Legacy of the Hearth
by rockyroad69
Summary: Percy Jackson is not a son of Poseidon... But a son of Hestia! How will this affect his life? With a depressed father and two willing sidekicks, can he face the challenges before him? Pairings you will decide, hmm. I don't own the story and the amazing cover art.
1. Percy's Worst Week

_Legacy of the Hearth_

**Hello people, Rocky here! I've decided to take a very big leap to move to other universes. This being the PJO universe. This is my first ever PJO story, so be lenient with me. Btw, this is an AU in which Perseus is Hestia's kid. I just love Hestia's power. It's bloody cool. Disclaimer: This amazing series of PJO does not belong to me but to Mr Riordan, I wouldnt be here if it was XD.  
**

Percy really hated his life, he really did. Between living in a shitty household and going in an endless merry-go-round of schools (Dad should _really _give up sometime), he was sure he would choose neither. It didn't help that his mother went AWOL for the whole of his life, causing his dad to sink into depression and be a total wreck. However, if there was something Percy was always happy about, it was fire. No, not the scalding, the burning kind, but warm, and in a strange sense, comforting. While Percy sat by the fireplace after something bad happened, he liked to think when he was a kid that maybe; just maybe, it was his mother comforting him, caring him through his troubles. He never knew just how close to the truth he was.

Hestia looked at Perseus with sadness. It tore at her heart to see her son and John in such misery after she left. However, she did take comfort that her lover was slowly moving on, and finally noticing that he had a son he had to take care of. There was also another concern. While she never knew when she would need to finally send Percy to Camp Half-Blood, she knew it would be soon. Perseus's power was growing. Being the First-Born of Hestia, he was undoubtedly more powerful. His scent was growing too. Hestia knew that she couldn't confine Perseus's scent with her powers much longer, and understood that the time was coming. She braced herself as she prepared to talk with John about Percy's inevitable departure.

LINE BREAK

'What the hell.' Percy thought.

Percy thought his life was bad, but here it just got worse. It started out as a pretty normal school trip with Mr Brunner and that Miss Dud, oops no, Miss Dodds. He shuddered as he remembered the detention he got from blurting out that little nickname(ADHD). Horrible. Anyway, it all went to shit when his teacher turned into an Alien from the AVP movie. A monster, basically. It didn't help that it interrogated Percy about things he did not even know, and kept demanding for Percy to return something. Then another weird thing happened. Mr Brunner, the Latin teacher suddenly appeared and threw a sword, with which Percy sliced at the Monster. After that, everything was _normal._ He was still baffled at how Mr Brunner and the other school kids kept denying everything. It was so normal that Percy almost believed it. However, there was always a weak link in everything. _Grover._ Percy shook his head as he remembered Grover's laughable lying. A few days later, he decided to follow his friend, to find out what he knew.

"…Worried about Percy, sir" Grover said, causing Percy to tense.

"He needs time. We need Percy to mature more." The voice of Mr Brunner answered, nearly causing Percy to drop his books.

"A Kindly One, in school! And his scent is growing stronger! We need to get him out of here, really!" Grover frantically answered, causing Percy to involuntarily sniff himself. _Scent?_

A pause.

"Sir, I cannot fail. You know what that means." Grover said with emotion.

"You haven't failed, Grover. I should have seen her for what she was. But the scent, that is concerning. He is more powerful than I thought… No matter. Anyway, we need to be concerned about keeping him alive till next fall…" Mr Brunner said while Percy gaped, dropped his books, and bailed out of there.

Percy sighed, knowing that he was in for a sleepless night.

LINE BREAK

Percy decided this was it. It didn't help that he was out of school. Again. This bus ride with Grover wasn't much comfort either. He kept looking around, like he expected something to happen. While he tried to talk to Grover, his friend wasn't really that responsive. Until he dropped the bombshell.

"Looking for Kindly Ones?" Percy whispered, causing Grover to jump.

"Keeping me alive till next fall? What the hell is that, Grover?" Percy added, causing Grover to sweat.

"It w-was n-nothing. I-I was j-just telling Mr Brunner a-about how worried I-I was for you. Not l-like Miss Dud- err- Miss Dodds was existing or something," Grover started rattling off.

"Grover, you totally suck at lying," Percy chuckled as Grover sighed.

Taking out a business card, Grover said, "Well, just take this, okay? If you need me."

Reading the card, Percy noticed a familiar text. _Camp Half-Blood._ That was familiar, but Percy couldn't place it. Was it a dream… Or… And the bus broke down. Percy grimaced at the terrible smell the engine was producing, before looking across the road to see three old women. He heard Grover hold his breath as the women produced a string, took a large scissors and cut it. The snip wasn't normal, Percy knew that. It was as if something big was cut, the way it reverberated through the streets. Wait. Three old women. Strings. How could he not see it? It was a long shot, but considering how much he experienced in the past week, he didn't think it was impossible.

"Those are the Fates, aren't they? And that string is the string of Life," Percy silently asked Grover, who jumped and widened his eyes.

"Let's get back to the bus, it's finally started already," Grover answered hurriedly, not willing for Percy to find out more. He knew Percy was a powerful demigod, and it didn't help that his scent was getting much stronger after that little revelation.

Grover decided he had no choice – he was going to get Perseus Jackson to Camp Half-Blood tonight. It was all going too fast. He didn't predict what was going to happen, though.

Of ALL bad days, this took the cake. Percy grew more and more freaked out as Grover started to stop denying his questions, instead deflecting them right now. So, he did the only thing that any person would have done in this situation. He bailed out on Grover and took a cab home. As he opened the door, he noticed that his father looked more miserable than ever. Before Percy could say anything though, he was engulfed with a bear hug from his father, who started shaking uncontrollably.

"What's up dad?" Percy asked while he broke away from the hug.

"It's time… Percy. And before you go, I want to say, that I'm sorry, and I love you so much," John said as he gripped his son's shoulders very tightly.

"…Dad? What are you talking about?" Percy said, nervous at what his father would say, after a hectic 2 days.

"Your mother called. Your life is in danger, Percy," John said grimly, as he looked at Percy to signify that he wasn't joking. Percy grew more freaked out. First Miss Dodds, the Fates, and now this. Life just didn't seem to catch a break for him.

"Can I have one more night, dad?" Percy asked pleadingly. His father's eyes softened, and he nodded.

Remembering his childhood, Percy sat in his chair beside the fireplace, basking in its warmth.

LINE BREAK

Later that night, the doorbell rang. Percy opened it, only to see Grover panting and scowling at him.

"What were you thinking?! I've been searching all night!" Grover gasped as Percy gaped at his legs, _furry legs._

"What's wrong Percy… Oh. Did something happen?" Percy's father said and looked at Percy.

Grover nodded at John, signifying the urgency of the situation. Percy started to freak out as John nodded to Percy to tell him what happened. Backed into a corner, Percy started to tell his father what transpired during the day. After the story, his father merely opened the door and said, "Get to the car, _now._"

In the car, John only asked one question,"What is hunting us?"

"Hades" Grover answered grimly, as Percy bit his lip, as he started regretting about running from Grover.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked, tense at the silence.

"The place that your mother told me to send you to. Camp Half-Blood. With any luck, we'll be getting there alive," John said calmly, drawing a wide eyed, yet hopeful look from Percy. Perhaps his mother did care about him afterall.

**OK this is where the chapter ends. I will try to deviate from canon later in the story, but I don't know. No matter, here's the new PJO story I've been wanting to write. RnR, feel free to criticize. I know I need advice for this project. Pairings you will decide in reviews. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and toodly woodless!~~  
**


	2. Percy Goes To Camp

Legacy of the Hearth Chapter 2

**Hello! I must say, I was absolutely stunned at the reception this story received. Thank you all for your support XD. Really means a lot to me! **

**Disclaimer, this series of pjo belongs to Mr Riordan. If it was, I wouldn't be here writing this. Blah blah blah, and all that. Read on, hope you enjoy..**

Just 15 minutes into the ride, Percy Jackson knew just how bad the situation was. He not only felt foul presences behind him, but he also eyed Grover, who was shaking uncontrollably throughout the trip. Grover however, had different thoughts. He knew Percy was a powerful demigod the day he stepped into Yancy academy, but he did not expect Percy's scent to be this strong. Even when Percy was still ignorant, he always had a scent which gave away his power and potential strength. Lines of worry creased his face as he thought about Chiron's possible conclusions as to why. Either Percy was a Child of the Big Three, or he was a firstborn of an especially powerful God. None of which that would have boded well for Percy. Firstly, the Oath that the Big Three swore, and secondly, the fact that there were very few Olympians who never had children. The Virgin Goddesses(minus Athena), and a few others.

"What's wrong, Grover? What are you, by the way?" Percy asked, snapping his friend of his dark thoughts.

"Satyr! Anyway, Mr Jackson, how far are we to camp?" Grover asked earnestly, currently immensely worried for their lives.

"Almost there. We just passed the 'Strawberries' sign." John replied, surprisingly calm considering the situation they were in. Truthfully, it was partly because John was _guilty_. Guilty of how he left Perseus alone when he needed his father most. Guilty of how he wallowed in his depression while Perseus faced the world alone. However, he shrugged off those thoughts, knowing that this was neither the time nor the place. Percy was in danger, and he had to be strong, just this once. For his son.

"Are we going to that summer camp?" Percy asked, remembering the business card Grover gave him.

"Yes. It is also the place where your mother personally requested me to send you." John replied, his voice breaking a little when he mentioned Percy's mother.

"To send me away, more like," Percy whispered bitterly, as he drew a sad smile from his father, who gently shook his head.

"To protect you, Percy. Your mother loves you very much. She left because she had to, to protect you. By now I think you know what you are. If people knew of your identity as your mother's son too soon, you would not have lived to see the next day," John explained with a soft smile, still happy that although away, Hestia did all she could to protect her son.

Finally figuring it out, Percy asked "Who is she, dad? Who is she?"

After a short pause, John finally said, "One day, Perseus. One day she will tell you her identity personally. She _promised_."

Suddenly, a black figure suddenly rushed beside the car, causing John to make a very sharp turn, causing him to nearly lose control. Then, all hell broke loose. Grover looked in horror as a terrible 'boom' sounded and the car _flipped_.

'No… Not another one… I can't fail… I can't…" Grover thought in despair as he lost consciousness. An image of Thalia then appeared in his mind, deepening his misery.

PERCY POV

Amongst the smouldering remains of the car, Percy managed to crawl out. The heat was terri- no scratch that… Not hot..? However, Percy swiftly shrugged these thoughts away as he looked for his father in the wreckage. He couldn't help but release a sigh of relief as his father pulled Grover out and turned to look at Percy with a look filled with pure relief. Percy could swear he heard a muttered 'Thank you'. Before he could ask about it though, he watched his father wield a look of horror before changing his face to one of weary resignation.

A terrible growl sounded as Percy slowly turned to see a… Cow.

"A cow," Percy said while his father face palmed before shouting for Percy to dodge as The Cow started to charge at Percy, seemingly pissed over that little ADHD spurred comment (Stop making that excuse, Perce).

"No Percy, that's Pasiphae's son. Looks like there are people, or gods who really, _really_ want to kill you. Remember, Percy. He pinpoints your location by smell. He can't turn very well when he's bull charging you though… DUCK!" John shouted as Percy used his instincts to duck while the Minotaur smashed a hole into the tree, freaking Percy out.

Carrying Grover, Percy rushed up the hill while his father simply smiled and calmly walked down the hill, shocking Percy, who started shouting for his father.

"DAD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Percy screamed in his horror.

"I am drawing away this cow here. Now go, Percy. And I'm sorry. Tell your mother I'm sorry," John started saying, while Percy could only look at the scene in disbelief.

"DAD DODGE!" Percy screamed desperately as the Minotaur charged at his father. But John was too slow… Just too slow…

A flash of golden light, as the Minotaur made contact. At this point, Percy saw red. Incredible heat burned around him as he looked at the Minotaur with fiery red and _flaming_ eyes. Not that he knew about it. The Minotaur seemed to be more apprehensive as he observed Percy's new change in demeanour.

"You will _pay_." Percy growled.

Instinctively, Percy held out his hand towards the Minotaur and gathered as much energy as he could endure. While the Minotaur charged, Percy continued gathering energy in his right hand. His only thought only consisted of destroying the Minotaur to avenge his father. White hot flames danced around his hand as he prepared to strike it at the Minotaur. It was so close… So close. Then he let it loose in one swift movement.

The explosion was huge. Percy felt heavy, as he used too much energy when he let loose that blast of flames to destroy the Minotaur. Of the Minotaur, almost nothing remained. All that remained was a piece of charred horn. Suddenly, Percy felt hollow. He took revenge, and lost control, but for what? He could have put Grover in danger with that last strike. His flaming red eyes instantly died down as regret began to gnaw on him. He was also creeping into unconsciousness. The last thing he remembered was when he heard two voices.

"Di Immortales! What happened here? Chiron, both are out!" A female voice exclaimed. What sounded like a horse walking soon followed.

"Such power… No matter. They are hurt. Bring them to the big house, now!" A familiar voice started saying gravely.

Then Percy blacked out, but not before he heard a gentle feminine voice saying, "Sleep, my child. I'm sorry."

'Mother…?'

LINE BREAK

"What will happen at the Summer Solstice?" A blond girl asked, waking Percy up with a start.

"… What?" Percy asked, not sure what the girl was on about, before remembering Chiron's conversation with Grover. Before he could answer though, the girl started to ask more questions.

"What's going on? What was stolen?!" The girl asked, giving Percy the 'look', to which Percy growled.

"I. Have. No. Idea," Percy gritted out, startling the girl.

The girl seemed to contemplate this for a moment, but Percy was too tired to even bother, and fell asleep.

LINE BREAK

Chiron's POV

Looking at the damage that the boy caused, and his powers, Chiron grew concerned. The boy was powerful. Gods already had taken notice. Hell(Hades), Hades mistook Percy for a Child of the Big Three and sent his monsters after Percy, thinking that his brothers had broken the oath. However, Percy's command over fire had already disproved that. Remembering the Great Prophecy, Chiron involuntarily recited it in his mind, while his eyes started to widen.

_A half-blood of the eldest gods…_

The eldest gods… It can't be, can it? Chiron decided not to jump to conclusions to protect the boy. He would wait until Percy was claimed.

LINE BREAK

Percy POV

The sweet scent of strawberries filled Percy's nose as he finally came to. Seeing Grover, Percy broke into a sad smile, only for the Satyr to look away in shame.

"I-I thought you might want… This," Grover said sadly, as he held out a charred end of the Minotaur's horn, while Percy let out a resigned sigh. It hadn't been a dream.

"It's been two days. How much do you remember?" Grover asked, drawing a tired chuckle from Percy.

"I don't know… All I know, is that I got really, really pissed, and everything burned," Percy answered sombrely, before Grover mirthlessly laughed.

"Yeah, the damage costs were insane. But… I'm sorry… I'm the worst satyr…" Grover whispered as he started to slur.

Percy couldn't stand his friend in such shame. He immediately rose and hugged his friend, unknowingly exuding comforting warmth, which immediately calmed his friend down.

"It wasn't your fault. It was mine for bailing out on you. So stop hitting yourself for it," Percy spoke gently, as Grover nodded with a small smile.

"Ah! I forgot!" Grover exclaimed as he took out a flask and handed it to Percy, motioning him to drink it.

Percy downed the flask, before smiling at the taste. It tasted like sweet syrup. The sweet syrup which he usually drank while sitting by the fireplace in his house when there was a bad day. Instantly, he felt better, although the guilt did not leave. His father was gone after all. And it was partly his fault.

'_Don't blame yourself, child. John left for you to live, Perseus. Live.'_ The voice sounded in his mind. It startled him however, when it started breaking when she spoke his father's name. As if she was crying.

Before he could dwell on his thoughts however, Grover's face lit up as if he remembered something before holding out a hand on Percy.

Setting the flask on the table, Grover said, "Let's go, Percy! Chiron and Mr D are waiting."

Percy couldn't be gladder to accept the hand. He was going to live after all.

'_Thanks, Dad.'_

LINE BREAK

Whoa. That was the only thing Percy thought about as he eyed Camp Half-Blood's view from where he was. Ancient Greek architecture filled the landscape, while the sea could be seen from the horizon. It was a beautiful sight. He was knocked out of his trance, however, when Grover nudged Percy and motioned him to the farmhouse porch, where 2 men could be seen on a card table, while the blond girl who took care of him earlier leaned on a pillar while staring at him. Percy grimaced. Could a stare be anymore piercing?

Then, he turned to see a small, porky man wearing a Hawaiian shirt looking directly at him. Grover said that he was Mr D, the camp director. Looking at the man, Percy noticed blood shot eyes, a pudgy look., and a godly presence. Percy's first impression of him was an old drunk. Then, it hit him. Mr D was Dionysus, God of Wine. Grover also introduced Percy to Annabeth, who was supposed to be a pretty experienced camper by the looks of it. Percy couldn't resist the smile though, when he saw Chiron.

"Hello Mr Brunner," Percy smiled pleasantly.

Chiron winked and gave Percy a seat, and motioned him to sit. Chiron then nodded to Mr D, who immediately groaned.

"Must I? Welcome to Camp… What was it? Ah, Half-Blood. Blah Blah Blah." Mr D drawled, causing Percy to raise an eyebrow. The old alcoholic _clearly_ did not want to be here.

"I _heard _that. Annie Bell, you know what to do. Cabin 11, as usual," Mr D continued, drawing a brief annoyed look from Annabeth, before she finally sighed and nodded.

After giving Percy and his charred horn a glance, she merely said, "You drool when you sleep."

Still gaping, Percy turned to Chiron and sighed, "Well hello, Chiron."

Smiling pleasantly, Chiron spoke of how glad he was that Percy was alive (Percy shuddered), and explained that he made a personal house-call (As he called it) because Grover had smelled something special in me. Percy put a hand on his forehead and sighed. He was just too _special_. Something he didn't like. Because from what he understood, the more special you are, the sooner the monsters would find you, and would kill you.

"Do you know how to play pinochle?" Mr D suddenly asked Percy, who simply shrugged.

"_No, Sir,_" Mr D corrected, staring at Percy.

"Yeah, Sir, Lord Dionysus, Whatever," Percy shrugged.

Dionysus was not impressed at the lack of respect the boy showed him. Eyes flashing, he showed the boy just an image of his true nature. Percy instantly shivered, and sighed at Mr D, before giving in to give the wine god his proper respect. Mr D then lost the game. Sighing, Mr D nodded at Grover, who started to sweat, before finally turning to Percy.

"Cabin Eleven, Percy Jackson. Mind your manners," Mr D said with finality before going up the farmhouse, followed closely by a miserable looking Grover.

"Don't worry about Mr D, Percy. He doesn't hate you, he just hates the job," Chiron said pleasantly before Percy gave a small glare.

"He's just being bitter, like a child," Percy muttered angrily, before Chiron gave him a warning look not to continue. Thunder started to sound, effectively shutting Percy up.

"He is a _god _Percy. Remember that," Chiron stated plainly, before lifting himself off the wheelchair, showing his full Centaur form.

"What a relief. I've been stuck in there for so long. Anyway, let's go meet the campers, Percy Jackson," Chiron said, holding out a hand.

Percy had never been so eager in his whole life. He took the hand, unaware of a little girl smiling at him from afar as she stoked the coals of a hearth.

**OK finally. Anyway, I have edited some things from canon and changed some things, I hope you like it. Moreover, I did change a lot of interactions, which I also hope is to your liking. Also, I laid the groundwork for a lot of fatal flaws in this chapter. I wouldn't mind doing the canon fatal flaw, but what do you think? Comment on the reviews. Thank you so much for reading, Cheers! **

**PS. Oh, as to why Hestia interacts more, simply because he is her only child. And the fact that she has more time to burn. Heheh. Burn.**

**Alice in Chains – Them Bones**


	3. Percy Gets Pummeled

Legacy Of The Hearth Chapter 3

**Ok, I'm back with another chapter about our favourite son of Hestia. I do hope I'm not making Mr Jackson too powerful though. Anyway, onto the next chapter! Have a great read (I hope!).**

Wow. That was the only word Percy could form as Chiron led him through the camp. Although he could feel tension as the older campers looked at him, the place was… Peaceful. Percy was pretty miffed though, because he could literally feel eyes burning through him as campers looked at him apprehensively. Feeling unnerved, Percy looked at Chiron for support, who flashed him an encouraging smile. Walking through the strawberry fields that financed the camp, Percy couldn't help but think about Grover. What would happen to him? Asking Chiron about it, Percy couldn't help but feel guilty. If he hadn't bailed out on Grover, this wouldn't have happened.

"Will he get his second chance? It wasn't his fault anyway," Percy insisted, hoping against hope that he could find a way to save Grover's career, before Chiron sadly shook his head.

"That was his second chance, Percy. I'm afraid the council won't be so lenient now, after the first time. Perhaps he'd find a better career," Chiron finished with a wince.

"What happened the first time? Was it that horrible?" Percy asked, curious about why Grover was given the short end of the stick.

At that, Chiron immediately stiffened, and said, "That is a story for another time."

Percy knew then that the conversation was finished. Led to the woods, Percy was amazed about the size of the place. Chiron stressed that he was to go armed when going into the woods, which led to Percy figuring out what it was 'stocked' with. That seemed to remind Chiron of something, though.

"Oh, that reminds me. Percy, here. I got this yesterday, and I assume it's a gift from your mother," Chiron said, holding out a small box, which had Percy's name written on it.

Eyebrows raised, Percy opened it, revealing a beautiful curved dagger, with Ancient Greek writing around the edge. It looked bronze, and the black hilt looked to be made out of bone, and wrapped by scales. The true beauty however, was the blade. The razor edge curved elegantly and beautifully with flame patterns delicately engraved on it, while the blunt edge was filled with Ancient Greek writing, which Percy assumed were spells written upon the blade to allow him to focus his powers on it. There was curved writing on the hilt, which read 'Slayer' in Ancient Greek. Still gawking, Percy could only let out a subdued 'wow' before Chiron lightly tapped him on the shoulder to move on to the other parts of the camp.

The other parts of the camp looked, well, like a boot camp from ancient times, with a modern feel to it. Percy walked by the arena, where _largely_ non-fatal battles and spars took place, while Chiron droned on (as Percy described it) about the different stuff that happened around the camp. Walking by the mess hall, Chiron showed Percy the cabins. It was the most diverse and bizarre group of buildings that Percy had ever seen. All the designs were different. There was even a gold cabin which would be blinding to anyone who saw it reflecting the sunlight. Smiling, Percy figured that the cabin was probably Apollo's. Asking Chiron about it, he simply smiled and nodded, before pointing at the field all the cabins were facing, where a large firepit. A hearth. A little girl was seen poking the coals with a stick. Feeling an instant connection, Percy involuntarily moved towards the girl, who turned to him with a look of surprise. The girl then winked, smiled and put a finger to her lips before disappearing. Shaking off his (dis)comfort, Percy quickly caught up to Chiron, who was waiting.

Looking at the cabins, Percy noticed Cabins 1 and 2 were empty, and arguably the grandest. Percy then found out it belonged to Zeus and Hera, before asking the _question_.

"Wasn't Zeus like, really active with girls in the myths? Why's it empty?" Percy rashly asked, his ADHD overcoming his restraint (Percy's excuse).

Thunder rumbled in the distance while Chiron sighed, "Percy, you really need to learn some restraint. Perhaps '_had a lot of kids'_ would have worked better. Anyway, that is also a story for another time."

"Where's Hestia's cabin? Isn't she the eldest Olympian?" Percy asked curiously, noticing only twelve cabins, before Chiron explained that she stepped down to Dionysus, preventing war among the gods. Percy wouldn't admit it, but deep inside he felt bitter, thinking that Hestia deserved more respect than that old drunk.

Noticing Percy's slightly angry look, Chiron quickly ended the conversation before Percy would lay another insult, knowing that he wasn't too fond of Dionysus.

"So Chiron, you've been a teacher of heroes for, uh, thousands of years?" Percy asked.

"Yes, child. Why?" Chiron asked, surprised at Percy for asking that question.

"How do you deal with it? I mean, so many of the heroes you train die young." Percy asked, instantly feeling guilty as he understood what he asked.

"By teaching the next generation and hope that they learn from the mistakes of the past," Chiron answered, smiling sadly as he remembered his old students.

Percy turned away, thinking hard about that last statement that Chiron made, before Chiron pointed to the blond girl and said, "Oh look, Annabeth's waiting for us."

When they reached her, Percy noticed the piercing and studying look Annabeth gave him, which unnerved him. Do _all_ campers have to look at him like that? Chiron then left for an archery class he was conducting, but not before giving Percy to Annabeth and leading him into Cabin Eleven. Cabin Eleven looked, well, _normal_. It didn't have wacky designs, or a horrible paint job (Cabin 5), or over-the-top designs (the gold cabin). It looked old, with the paint peeling, while there was a symbol of a caduceus showing over the door. Entering the Cabin, Percy noticed that it was overcrowded. It looked like a refugee camp, with sleeping bags strewn all over the floor. The cabin mates were all looking at Percy.

"Percy, meet Cabin Eleven," Annabeth said, while Percy tripped over his own foot when he entered.

Earning a few snickers, Percy then heard a voice asking, "Regular or undetermined?"

"Undetermined," Annabeth answered, drawing a few groans.

"Now, now, campers. Anyway, Percy, you can have that spot on the floor," a camper who Annabeth identified as Luke(While blushing) said with a friendly smile.

"So, how long will it take for me to be determined?" Percy asked, hoping that he was wrong.

A flash of bitterness showed on some campers and one of them said, "I don't know."

Percy's heart sank. He also felt for the other undetermined campers as he eyed their desperate and sad looks. Didn't the gods care for their children? But here he was, seeing the consequences of the Gods being controlled by their own lust, and inability to keep it in their pants. And their selfishness. He also shuddered. Was his mother going to just forget about him like this? Was he just going to be thrown into the Hermes cabin, with pointless desperation?

'_Don't worry, my child. I would never do that,'_ the feminine voice said again in Percy's mind.

'Mother? Who are you? Please tell me, mother!' Percy yelled in his thoughts, before a calming presence hushed him in his mind.

'_The time is coming, my child. You will know who I am soon,' _the voice answered gently, while Percy swore he could feel someone caressing his cheek.

Then, he felt himself being dragged away while the voice of Annabeth sounded, "Percy, come on!"

After leaving the cabin, Annabeth started rolling her eyes and said, "I can't believe you were the one."

"What the hell is your problem? If you're not happy with me, then piss off! All I did was kill a bull guy-" Percy was _really _pissed at Annabeth's stuck-up attitude.

"Don't talk like that! Do you know how many of us wished to get your chance?!" Annabeth told angrily, before being cut off by a cold look.

"To get killed? I was in the impression that this camp trained us to _survive_. Not to play hero, unless the Fates willed it. No wonder so many heroes died young," Percy answered coldly, while Annabeth rolled her eyes again and muttered 'whatever'.

"Anyway, why is there another Minotaur sticking around? Didn't Theseus kill it already?" Percy asked Annabeth, who was still frowning over what Percy said.

Driven out of her thoughts, Annabeth said, "Monsters can't die, Percy. They simply reform over the years after they are killed."

Well. That explained everything. It didn't help that Annabeth added the fact that his old friend Miss Dodds was still alive, and that Percy simply made her really angry. Annabeth then explained to Percy about the life of a half-blood, before a big, mean, but surprisingly good looking girl suddenly yelled and grabbed Percy. Percy half-expected Annabeth to save him, but was hardly surprised when all she did was trash talk with the girl (who Annabeth introduced as Clarisse, daughter of Ares) and give Percy a look of pity as Clarisse started dragging Percy to the bathroom.

"Big three material? Bullshit! The Minotaur probably killed himself looking at this slob," Clarisse proclaimed, while her friends snickered

Bending Percy over on his knees, Clarisse started to push Percy's head into the toilet bowl as Percy grew angrier and angrier. He would _not _be humiliated like this. Annabeth's eyes widened as she watched Percy's eyes start to flame.

"Piss off. PISS OFF!" Percy shouted as he let loose an explosion of fire, while the shockwave blasted Clarisse and her friends into the toilet walls, making craters on it.

Annabeth looked at Percy in awe and said, "How did you… It can't be… Maybe you _are _the one… You need to talk to the Oracle… I'll ask Chiron…"

Percy's eyes were still flaming.

"You are _dead, _newbie. _Dead_." Clarisse glared at Percy, who glared at her back.

"Just go away, please," Percy replied, as he cooled and his deep blue eyes replaced his flaming ones.

Annabeth stared at him, as if Percy was an impossible puzzle she had to solve, before shaking her head and saying, "I want you in my team at Capture the Flag."

"By the way, who are you a child of?" Percy asked suddenly.

"… Athena," Annabeth answered.

LINE BREAK

The tour went on smoothly, until Percy asked, "What's going to happen on the solstice?"

"I don't know. The Satyrs and Chiron know, but they didn't tell me. It was pretty normal before recently. Something big must have happened in Olympus. I'm sure you've noticed the erratic weather. I've overheard the Satyrs talking, and the only thing I can actually figure out is the fact that something was stolen. I thought you might know something," Annabeth replied with a look of frustration.

"I don't know, maybe a weapon or something? Maybe someone managed to nick themselves a symbol of power from those gods," Percy said jokingly, only to be cut off by a stern look from Annabeth before that look turned thoughtful.

"That is possible… I want a quest, I'm not too young, if only they'd tell me the problem," Annabeth started saying, before being cut off by Percy.

Percy sighed. He felt bad for Annabeth, but couldn't help but feel pretty miffed. Was a quest what everything boiled down to? He started to ponder more as his stomach growled. He could have swore Annabeth snickered before asking him to go on.

LINE BREAK

Percy decided something. He liked Luke. The dude _stole_ toiletries from him for gods' sake.

"I must say Luke, this is the nicest thing that's happened to me all day," Percy said cheerfully, earning a smile from Luke and the other cabinmates. Percy had the uncanny ability to make anyone feel good with his presence when he was happy, which was noticed by some of the shrewder cabin mates.

"Uh, Luke? Annabeth said I need to talk to the Oracle? What's that?" Percy asked, drawing a dark look from the Cabin Counselor.

"Prophecies… I hate them," Luke said darkly, surprising Percy.

"They cause so many young deaths, and the Fates aren't too keen to spare the brave few who try to fight them," Percy laughed half-heartedly, while Luke nodded his head.

"Very true… Anyway, it's dinnertime, let's go," Luke said, before a conch horn sounded in the distance.

LINE BREAK

At the mess hall, Percy was struggling to sit at the Cabin Eleven bench. Cabin Eleven was waayyy overcrowded. When he finally did, he saw Chiron raise the glass, and say, "To the Gods!"

The shout echoed throughout the mess hall as Luke told Percy to speak to the cup to order a drink of his choice.

"Vanilla Coke," Percy said fondly, remembering his childhood when his father used to buy him bottles of Vanilla coke.

'_Someday, dad, I'm gonna pull an Orpheus, and tell you how much I love you,' _Percy joked to himself as he gave a sad smile.

Then, he was served brisket, before being motioned by Luke to sacrifice part of the food to the gods. Apparently they liked the smell. Initially scoffing, he sacrificed it to his mother, and by the gods, the smell was truly heavenly. However, he found out that he sacrificed a little too much. When he went back to his table, he silently complained to himself. What wouldn't he give to have an extra plate. He was _hungry._

Clapping his hands in frustration, gasps then echoed around him. A plate of brisket simply popped up in front of Percy. And it looked better than the one he sacrificed. It looked, well, homemade. Whispers started to occur within the campers, but Percy ignored it as he ate his dinner. He sincerely hoped that was his power that he could call on at any time, because the brisket was _delicious. _Somehow, he managed to ignore the looks around him while eating his meal.

After everyone finished their meals, Chiron stamped a hoof and motioned to a sleepy looking Mr D, who gave a huge sigh before finally standing up.

"Yes, yes, hello, blah blah blah. Chiron says that Capture the Flag is on Friday. Cabin Five is currently holding the laurels. Woohoo, yay, and all that. Anyway, we have a new camper. His name is Puss- er – Peter Johnson." Mr D drawled lazily, before Chiron spoke into his ear.

"Er, Percy Jackson. Blah blah blah. Yay. Woohoo. Anyway, go on to your campfire, move along now." Mr D continued, setting off a sea of cheers from the campers.

Moving to the amphitheater, the campers had a campfire where the Apollo Cabin led a sing along. Jokes and humor were thrown around as Percy basked in the hearth, where he felt at home. Without a doubt, this was one of the happiest Percy had been in his whole life. Looking at the stars, Percy wondered whether his mother would claim him here, as it would truly cap off a fantastic night. Nothing happened throughout. His heart sank as the conch horn sounded, and all campers had to return to their cabins.

LINE BREAK

Hestia POV

"So that is the boy?" Artemis asked with a knowing look.

"Indeed," Hestia replied happily.

"What of Zeus? He knows the boy's presence. His power is great, Hestia. We have done all we can to suppress it, but it is slowly awakening. You understand that, do you?" Artemis asked anxiously. She would never admit it, but she was fond of the boy in a sisterly way. She was the one who helped Hestia give birth to Perseus after all.

"Yes. He is slowly maturing. Don't worry, Artemis. Zeus can threaten all he likes. If he lays but a _finger_ on Perseus, I will personally rip him apart. I will show him the power of the Eldest Olympian," Hestia said darkly, while Artemis shivered noticeably, earning a chuckle from Hestia.

"Lady Hestia, while that is very impressive, Zeus will show no mercy. In his eyes, he is removing a threat and a thief. Also, there is the matter where you broke your oath for a mortal," Artemis said as respectfully as she could, before earning a thoughtful look from Hestia.

A pause.

"He would do well not to underestimate me," Hestia said, while Artemis nodded and left, knowing that Hestia wished to be alone while she watched her son.

People tend to forget that Hestia was the oldest of the siblings that were born of Kronos and Rhea, and frequently underestimated her power, not knowing that her power was equal to the Big Three themselves. Zeus, in his arrogance, would not have thought of her as a threat because of her peaceful nature, not knowing that it was well within her power to take revenge against Zeus if he acted rashly.

Banishing those thoughts, Hestia looked at her son through the campfire, who was star gazing with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"The time is coming Perseus. Just a little more, my son. Just a little more," Hestia muttered.

LINE BREAK

Time passed quickly as Percy went on his life at camp. It was a Friday afternoon as Percy sat with Grover on the pier, after a… thrilling experience with the lava wall.

"So, how goes your career?" Percy asked, curious about Grover.

"Mr D suspended judgement. He said that I hadn't failed, but hadn't succeeded, so we're kinda tied for now, unless you have a quest. But what are the chances?" Grover laughed half-heartedly, before Percy laid a hand on his shoulder.

"There are still chances Grover, and I am very confident that one day, you _will_ get what you wish for," Percy said gently, while Grover instantly felt better and more determined.

The two then exchanged small talk about the Gods, then the cabins, and finally, the big three.

"So, the oath you were talking about. Is that why Zeus and Poseidon are keeping it in their pants?" Percy asked curiously, wondering how those brothers especially stopped making children for 60 years straight, which would be kind of a god-record, excluding maiden goddesses.

"They all swore on the River Styx. Their children were just too powerful. World War II is kind of like the best example. It was basically Zeus and Poseidon's kids VS Hades' kids. I'm sure you know the aftermath. Anyway, Zeus and Poseidon won, so they essentially forced Hades into an oath never to have kids. All of them swore," Grover said seriously.

"So… How long did it take for one of them – barring Hades – to break it?" Percy asked curiously, knowing that the gods wouldn't change their habits in the duration of only 60 years, and would soon break their oath. It was ironic that as shunned, devious and cunning as he was, Hades was strangely the most honest and the one who will truly never break his word.

"Zeus got there first. He fell for a 80s model, and had a child named Thalia with her. Zeus got away with it because he's an immortal, but Thalia wasn't so lucky. As you saw yourself, Hades hates it when his brothers break oaths he is forced into. So, he chose to take it out on Thalia, and sent the worst monsters after her," Grover explained, with a touch of grief in his voice.

Grover continued, "She took her final stand at that hill, while holding off the monsters for me – Satyr and a couple of half-bloods she defended. Zeus took pity on her when she died, and turned her into a pine tree, where her spirit resides to protect the camp."

Percy could only feel hollow as he heard the story Grover just told, but he caught the slip. Was Grover the satyr charged to protect Thalia? Was it why he was looked so haunted when Percy was in danger? However, Percy wanted to clarify something. Before he could though, he had Grover looking at him with a sad look and reassuring him(self) that Percy was probably a child of the less powerful gods, although he knew well enough to know that it wasn't true.

LINE BREAK.

It was finally time for capture the flag. Fingering Slayer, Percy's heart started beating faster as Annabeth and Clarisse took out their respective flags, signifying the start of the game. Campers yelled and cheered as they eyed the flags Clarisse and Annabeth carried

"Whose side are we on?" Percy asked, earning a sly smile from Luke.

"Athena. We've made a temporary alliance with Apollo too," Luke explained.

Ares had allied themselves with everybody else. The Aphrodite kids, the nasty looking Hephaestus kids, the Demeter kids, and lastly, those mean Ares kids. Slamming a hoof on the table, Chiron started explaining the rules to the campers, which excited(frightened) Percy even more. He was sure Clarisse was going to maim him in this match for that humiliation at the bathroom.

"Arm yourselves!" Chiron said, before spreading his hands.

The table was suddenly covered with battle equipment, kind of like an armory. Percy wasted no time fishing out the equipment, which weighed about a thousand tons. Groaning with the effort to lift it, Percy quickly fell in with the others in the Blue team, as Annabeth made final checks before yelling," Blue team, forward!"

The team cheered and followed Annabeth to the south. Percy managed to catch up and say, "So where do I go? I'm in border patrol, and Luke wasn't exactly specific about it."

"Oh that's easy, stand by the creek, and keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan," Annabeth replied.

"One day, that arrogance is going to bite you in the back, you know," Percy muttered. Annabeth didn't seem to hear, causing Percy to sigh.

LINE BREAK

Standing in the creek, Percy groaned as he fingered his sword. It was, in one word, uncomfortable, horribly imbalanced with his hand. He wanted to take out Slayer, but held it off as he wanted it to be a surprise weapon in case he ran out of tricks. Suddenly, there was a sound which immediately made Percy shudder. The sinister growl of a dog. A really big one. Unfortunately, Percy could not dwell on it as he was suddenly attacked from all sides by Clarisse and the other Ares kids. Percy knew he had no chance in winning, so he chose to stall for time until the game was over.

Percy wasn't having a great fight. The Ares kids were absolutely _pummeling_ him. Sidestepping and countering a slash from Ugly number one, he suddenly got jumped by Ugly number 2, whose strike he barely dodged, before Clarisse scored a direct hit with her electric spear to his chest, which shocked Percy out of his wits. Then, they started pummeling him. Disoriented by the spear, Percy was immediately disarmed by Ugly number 3, before being unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Percy didn't know what happened, but he knew that these kids were blinded by their hatred, and might have done something seriously terrible if they continued as they were. Desperate, Percy called on to his power, and exploded. His eyes caught fire again while he felt himself healing. The Ares campers were still reeling from the blast that Percy released. Clarisse would never admit it, but she was awed. Eyes flaming, and drawing his power from something, in the camp, Percy suddenly felt his strength and reflexes improve as he took out his dagger and focused his powers on it.

Knocking the Ares kids with the hilt of the blade with quick succession, Percy turned to Clarisse, whose gaze was affixed to Percy's flaming eyes. Percy took advantage, grabbed Clarisse's spear, and severed it with his flaming knife, before knocking a shocked Clarisse out with the hilt. Percy was glad that it ended quickly. He would probably lose, or even be killed if the Ares kids had drawn out the battle and if he hadn't been given his little power boost. Then a loud, elated cheer rang throughout the forest as Luke was seen brandishing the Red team's flag.

Well. The Blue team had won.

Percy would have joined the celebrations, but he was interrupted by a female voice, "Not bad, hero. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"So I was the distraction. It's a good plan, but what were you thinking? You put a rookie like me to distract 5 pissed off; _experienced_ Ares kids who wanted to pulverize me for what I did yesterday, _alone_. Had the battle been drawn out, I might have died, you know. Clarisse and her mates weren't pulling any punches in pummeling me," Percy said with a touch of anger, while Annabeth simply shrugged.

"Well, I came as quickly as I could… I was about to jump in, but you didn't need any help," Annabeth started to say, with an uncertain tone with a small touch of guilt, which made Percy smile. She was a good person, if not stubborn and slightly arrogant.

"How did you do that?" Annabeth asked, confusing Percy.

"Do what?"

"Heal yourself with flames back there."

Percy thought for a moment and finally said, "I don't know, I just did it."

Annabeth studied Percy for a moment, before looking at his eyes, his deep blue eyes, which was flaming… Wait. How could she be so blind not to see it? But it was impossible… She would never have a child, would she?

"Di immortales… It can't be… The Eldest… Now I understand…" Annabeth started muttering.

Before Percy could ask about it, the growl suddenly returned. A howl rippled through the forest as a black hound started charging at Percy. Percy could barely register Annabeth's shout as he stood, too surprised to move. Then, it hit him. For the first time, Percy felt true fear as he felt the hound ripping into his chest, before it was killed by a cascade of arrows through the neck. Percy could only watch as he was slowly bleeding out, black spots dancing in his vision.

"A hellhound from the Fields of Punishment! They don't… They're not supposed to…" Annabeth stuttered as Clarisse started to lay her input, saying that Percy summoned it.

"Silence, child," Chiron said to Clarisse, slightly angered at her accusation.

Before anyone could say anything though, a small hooded figure suddenly walked up to Percy. Chiron started to raise his bow, before she lifted up her hood and gently nodded towards Chiron, who recognized her and looked in shock. The older campers also had the same look as they observed the scene. By this time, Percy was nearly unconscious.

"My child… Perseus. The hearth… Has the power to burn… And to heal. Heal, Perseus. My beloved son. Damn the fates. I cannot allow you to die like this," The little girl said as she placed her soft hand on Percy's cheek with gentleness, before healing him with fire, while campers looked in amazement.

'Mother,' Perseus thought as he recognized the voice, earning a bright smile from the little girl, who disappeared, and left Percy a gift, to which all campers gasped. Even Dionysus, who just went out, gaped as he saw the mark that hovered over Percy. Chiron had prepared himself for this, as the signs were all there. Percy could swear he heard some campers drop their weapons in pure shock. Even Annabeth couldn't believe her eyes, even after concluding that it was the only possible parent Percy would have.

"Percy… Um…" Annabeth said, breaking herself out of her stupor momentarily, before pointing at something above Percy. Above Percy was red light. A symbol of fire – a burning hearth.

"Your mother… This is absolutely amazing. Never in my life have I expected to see this, Perseus Jackson," Dionysus whispered in awe, shocking everybody in the camp. Then he disappeared.

Suddenly, all campers started to kneel with subdued expressions, clearly not getting over the shock of the identity of Percy's godly parent.

"It is determined. Hestia. Goddess of the Hearth, Home, Family. And The Eldest Olympian. Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of Hestia," Chiron said grimly.

With all the truth revealing upon him, and the stares, the near death experience he just had and the clap of thunder after that revelation, Percy's mind couldn't take it anymore. He fainted.

'_Sleep, my child. Rest.' _

**Phew. I believe this is by far the longest chapter I have ever written. This chapter was really tough, I have to say, because I am altering the universe whilst trying to keep everyone (except percy) in character, and also laying the groundwork for the plot whilst rearranging it. As you can see, Percy is more blunt and more cynical than he is in the novels. He's just bitter, that's why. Anyway, in terms of romance, I'm thinking the lines of Zoe Nightshade and maybe Thalia. No Artemis, as she is going to be a 'sister' to Percy. Anyway, What do you think? Do read and review, please. Thank you very much for reading this, and toodles ~~**

**PS. Do you think I need a beta?**

**PS2. How about you guys decide on Percy's new fatal flaw? I'll choose the one that I like, and I'll go from there.**

**Alice in Chains – A Little Bitter **


	4. Percy Gets A Quest

Legacy of the Hearth Chapter 4

**Hello I'm Back! *Bows* I was very, very proud with the last chapter, honestly. But I will try to surpass it with this. Haha. Enjoy reading mates!**

**Disclaimer – The beautiful series of PJO was created by Uncle Riordan, and not little old me.**

HESTIA'S POV

"SISTER! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" A voice rumbled as Hestia sighed – this would be difficult to explain. Artemis threw her a mildly nervous look, to which Hestia nodded reassuringly.

Immediately after, there was a godly flash as Zeus himself appeared with an unreadable expression. Hestia could only stare back with her molten eyes, as Zeus studied her.

"Is your son the Thief?" Zeus asked quietly.

"No. You are a fool to think so, brother. He knew nothing of his parentage until I claimed him yesterday," Hestia said.

"He is a threat, and powerful. If he shows but a sign of being a traitor, I will not hesitate. Do you understand, Sister?" Zeus rumbled.

"He would never betray you, _brother_. And if you touch a _hair_ with that accursed lightning of yours, you _will_ pay for it. Do you not remember my power, Zeus? The power you tried so hard to suppress by giving me weaker domains? The fates still do not forget, Zeus. Remember that," Hestia dangerously warned, her molten eyes now white with the heat.

The tension in the room was palpable. Artemis could only watch from the corner of the room, awed at Hestia's power.

"That will not protect your child, sister. And you would do well to remember my domain as King of the Olympians," Zeus answered, before blasting away.

"So, Artemis… Your cabin?" Hestia asked kindly.

"I'll talk with my Hunters, and we'll see how it goes. It is their cabin as well," Artemis answered.

"I understand," Hestia conceded, as she quickly tried to leave the palace, before some _unsavoury_ characters came. Artemis noticed her rush and smirked. If _she_ came, Hestia would be in for an even longer explanation, and no threats would be able to stray _her_ away.

Suddenly, the door of the palace was opened, and Hestia could not help but groan as she saw Aphrodite's beaming face. This was going to be a _long_ day. Artemis could be seen holding in her laughter as she saw Hestia's panicked face. There was no way of escape now.

LINE BREAK

Percy had a huge headache. As he remembered the events of the previous day, he face palmed. That was probably the stupidest way to react to a claim. Before he could think more about it though, he heard a familiar cough.

"Oh, Chiron. What's up?" Percy asked tiredly, while the centaur smiled good-naturedly.

"You might want to look in the mirror, Percy. You'll find that you've changed a little. Also, remember to meet Annabeth later for Ancient Greek Classes. I'm glad you're okay, Percy," Chiron said before he left the room.

Taking Chiron's advice, Percy looked into the mirror, and nearly fainted again from the shock. His tan complexion had grown paler. His hair had lightened from jet black to a dark brown. His face was slightly more angled. The biggest difference though, was his eyes. Before the claiming, he had deep, azure blue eyes that he got from his father. Now though, he had mismatched eyes. His right eye was a deeper sapphire blue, and his left eye was a ruby red. Looking closely, he also saw that his eyes were glowing a little too. Cool.

"Now if you would stop admiring yourself, can you please hurry up?" The voice of Annabeth laughed, while she observed Percy's new look. Admittedly, she was initially amazed, before reminding herself that Percy, among other things, was a firstborn, and was undoubtedly more powerful than most demigods.

"Oh shut up," Percy replied as he rose from the bed and followed Annabeth.

LINE BREAK

Percy was miserable. He was still in Cabin Eleven, but the atmosphere had changed. His friends were slowly steering clear of him. Annabeth would frequently scowl at Percy during lessons. When she left, she would mutter gibberish which Percy didn't even bother to understand. Even Clarisse was steering clear of him, although she did throw him a rare glare. Luke was the only one who treated him the same way, although he stopped pulling any punches with the sword classes, and trained Percy harder than before. Percy shuddered as he remembered the bruising late-night training (torture) sessions with Luke. He would have liked to heal himself, but healing with fire was extremely tiring, and usually he didn't have energy to spare after a training session with Luke. Groaning from the pain, Percy fell asleep.

That night, he had a dream.

He was standing on the far side of the beach, as lightning flashed around him. Two bearded men were wrestling in the beach. One was shouting at the other to 'Give it back, Give it back!' As the duel lengthened, the storm intensified, so intense that Percy was beginning to feel the heat from the endless lightning bolts that struck and the cold wind slapping at his face. Percy suddenly had a feeling that the two men were Poseidon and Zeus, and the feud had run too deep to be controlled with mere words. Percy found himself being thrown around by the colossal storm. Fear gripped him as he completely forgot it was a dream. Suddenly, the ground shook, and a cold voice spoke.

'You want to be saved, hero? Come!'

A crevice formed into the road ahead. Suddenly, darkness started to form around Percy as he got closer to the crevice.

'Come, little hero, come!' The cold voice continued to taunt, as darkness consumed Percy and pulled him into the crevice.

Percy woke up with a start. Beads of sweat ran down his face as he tried to comprehend what he dreamt. Before he could think more on it though, Grover went into the cabin and informed Percy that Mr D wanted to see him. At this rate, Percy was sweating bullets. Luke, who was awake, gave him a reassuring smile, but it didn't really work. Percy was dangerously close to hyperventilating, before he suddenly felt a comforting warmth rush in his mind and a familiar voice.

'_Fear not, Perseus. Dionysus will not harm you.'_

_'__Thanks, mom'_

Percy could swear he heard a small giggle, before he smiled. That alone settled Percy's nerves a little better. Heaving a few deep breaths, Percy stood and followed Grover into the Big House. The sky was a dark grey, as if there was a storm coming. Campers and satyrs alike looked at the sky nervously. Percy sighed. This was probably Zeus's work, and his warning if whatever was stolen wasn't returned. Following Grover, Percy wondered why Mr D summoned him to the Big House. If it was Zeus judging him, he would already be blasted into pieces. Or perhaps Mr D wanted to turn him into a dolphin for making that racket. Or maybe he was going to be given a quest. Instantly, Percy let out a silent groan. Couldn't the Fates leave him alone for once? Before he could hear an answer though (That's pushing it, Perce), he found himself looking at good ol' Mr D, who was playing pinochle with Chiron and two invisible players.

"Well, well, well. Our little celebrity," Dionysus said, without looking up.

"Well, Mr D? You called me for something?" Percy asked, not willing to drag out this meeting.

"Yes, young celebrity. Come closer. Don't expect me kowtow to you just because the old fireplace lady is your mother," Dionysus said, while Percy silently fumed at the drunk.

"With all due respect Mr D, I think you should be more respectful to my mother. If not for her, I wouldn't be calling you 'Lord Dionysus' now would I?" Percy pointed out, while Mr D gave him a glare, and Chiron looked a tad nervous.

"Whatever. If I had my way, I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. Or turn you into a dolphin," Dionysus said drily, as Chiron stared at him.

"Both of which is a form of harm against a camper, Mr D. It goes against your job description," Chiron noted, causing Mr D to sigh.

"Huh. There is another option though, and you will beg me to turn you into firewood if you make that choice, Johnson. Anyway, I'm off to Olympus for an emergency meeting," Mr D said, before disappearing.

"That was close, Percy. If not for your mother's silent intervention, you would have been a dolphin right now. You may be right, Percy, but Dionysus is among other things, a _god_. Please, please remember that," Chiron pleaded, making Percy feel guilty.

"Take a seat, Percy. Grover, too," Chiron said.

Chiron then started to ask Percy about the hellhound, to which Percy answered honestly. He'd like to say that he faced it with no fear, or regretted that he wasn't the one to cast it down back to Tartarus, but he didn't. He remembered the hellhound started to tear into him. He was _terrified_. He was scared that he would actually die. He was terrified that he would have died without knowing who his mother was. Chiron looked at Percy sadly, and dropped the bombshell.

"You'll meet worse when you are at your… Quest. Will you accept it?" Chiron asked, not wishing to beat around the bush.

"It's not like I have a choice, right? I mean, with all those dreams…" Percy trailed off, instantly regretting what he just said.

"Dreams, you say?" Chiron asked seriously.

"Something was stolen, right? I've been having these dreams… Not to mention the satyrs had been yapping about it in 'hushed' tones," Percy asked, and quickly regretted it again as a look of excitement lit up Grover's eyes.

"It's his quest! It must be!" Grover said with excitement, terrifying Percy even more.

"Only the Oracle can decide. But nonetheless, you are correct. Zeus is having a, ah, quarrel with Poseidon. Over Zeus's lightning bolt," Chiron said grimly.

"_The_ Lightning Bolt?" Percy said, awed.

"Yes. The very weapon Zeus used to hurl Kronos off his throne," Chiron continued, as Percy started to understand the situation.

"So… Let me guess. Zeus thinks I'm the thief because I happened to be in the area when it happened," Percy deadpanned, before Chiron nodded.

"Not to mention that you are the First-Born son of Hestia, and Poseidon is known to be a very close associate to Hestia. Also, Zeus is suspicious because of your power. The fact that yes, you were in the area during the winter solstice, doesn't help either," Chiron explained seriously.

"I've never even been to Olympus. Oh mom, you _just _had to claim me _now _of all times, did you?" Percy muttered sarcastically, only to be cut off by Chiron's wry smile.

"Well, this was the perfect time, Percy. Hestia claiming you was crucial. If not for her intervention, I have no doubt that by now, Zeus and Poseidon will be at war. She bought crucial time until the solstice, for you, Percy. She was the one who persuaded Zeus wait until the solstice to make a decision over the bolt while giving time for you to find it, Percy," Chiron said with a smile, while Percy's mouth fell open.

"So… I don't have much of a choice, do I? I'll have to find the bolt and give it to Zeus by the solstice, before he goes batshit crazy about it eh?" Percy said jokingly, as thunder rumbled.

"Uh, Percy? I don't think putting 'batshit crazy' and 'Zeus' in the same sentence is a good idea," Grover nervously whispered.

"Oh, Percy… Anyway, yes. A son of Hestia returning the bolt… That is a masterstroke by Hestia indeed, well, assuming you survive this quest. But undoubtedly, there will be no fighting if you do so," Chiron said, making Percy gulp.

"Well… It's time to get the prophecy, eh?" Percy finally said, before Chiron nodded, motioning Percy up the stairs. Grover gave him a nervous thumbs-up, to which Percy gave a small smile.

Arriving in the attic, Percy immediately registered the musty and the reptile-ish smell. Around the room were trophies, old monster parts, and mementos. In the far end though, was something that made Percy nearly gag. A long dead, shriveled female mummy. Although scared to death (nearly), Percy approached the mummy. Something just seemed to draw him there. It wasn't long before he knew why. Green mist started to flood the room as a slithery and a hissing voice emerged in his mind.

_I am the Spirit of Delphi, Speaker of Prophecies. Approach seeker, and ask._

Swallowing, Percy finally gathered courage to say, "What must I do?"

_You shall go West, and face the God who has turned_

_You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned_

_You shall be betrayed by the one you call a friend_

_And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end_

Percy was stoned. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The prophecy was off to a good start, until the last two lines. He didn't have many friends in Camp Half-Blood. Only Grover and Luke, and maybe the Stoll Brothers. Annabeth was a friend of his too before she became a little too obsessed over her need for a quest and became a, what was it? Yes. A _bitch_. However, Percy couldn't help but refuse to believe that anyone of them would betray him. Not even Clarisse. They were good people, although with their relative flaws. Even Clarisse, if you look past her violent tendencies, she was a pretty nice person. Luke was an obvious no-no. Neither were the Stolls. Annabeth, nah. She was far too loyal to the Olympians to actually betray anyone. The last line, well, Percy tried not to think about it.

LINE BREAK

"Well, what did she say?" Chiron asked with a curious look.

Percy relayed the prophecy, although choking when he went to the last line. He just didn't feel like talking about it. Chiron raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment, instead staying quiet while Percy took the time to think. The west… The voice in the pit… Darkness… Wait a minute…

"Uh, Chiron. Is the underworld in the west?" Percy asked, as Grover's eyes widened.

"Yes, child, and I see that you have caught on," Chiron answered with and encouraging look, while Percy sighed.

"People are so quick to judge Hades. He's pretty unpopular, and not the nicest God in existence, but still. I don't really think it's his style to just take advantage like that," Percy said, raising an eyebrow from Chiron.

"Then how would you explain the Furies, and the hellhounds, Perseus?" Chiron asked with true curiosity, as Percy thought about it.

"The furies, I believe it was a misunderstanding. He must have thought that one of his brothers had broken their oaths, and sent them to chase after me. I don't think anyone would be happy if someone broke an oath they forced you to make. Besides that, the hellhound really confuses me. Annabeth once mentioned that the camp borders are protected…" Percy continued before remembering about the third line of the prophecy.

"We have a traitor. That explains the third line. There is a spy for… Someone around here," Percy realized, as Chiron beamed.

"You are truly your mother's son. But with your conclusions, why do you still want to go to the underworld… Why?" Chiron asked again, wondering what the surprisingly intelligent boy would say.

"There was a voice in a dark pit… In my dream. That's why I need to ask Hades about it. I'd like to think that he might know about that voice I heard. I'm pretty much confident that the voice is not Hades, and is the one who charged the thief to steal the Bolt," Percy said, while Chiron immediately took a strange look as if he thought about something, but immediately shrugged it off. Grover could be seen munching on the Pinochle Cards nervously.

Percy felt for the poor guy. He just couldn't catch a break too. This quest was his only chance to revive his career as a searcher.

"So… I'll have to go to the underworld and find Hades. And find the weapon. And get it back to Olympus by the Solstice. In 10 days. Before a full scale war starts. By the gods, that's pretty much..." Percy said, finally understanding the weight of what he was about to do.

As a result, Percy couldn't feel more relieved when Grover volunteered to accompany him, to which Percy readily agreed.

"So… Where's the underworld? Just 'West' doesn't help much, does it?" Percy asked, drawing a surprised look from Chiron, before the man sighed.

"It's in Los Angeles… Wasn't that obvious?" Chiron deadpanned, as Percy replied with a subdued 'Oh.'

Percy had 10 days. He thought about going on a plane, but decided it was too risky. Percy decided that he was_ not_ going anywhere near Zeus's domain and give him an excuse to blast Percy to smithereens with a lightning bolt, which would not be pleasant. His mother would be pissed. Anyway, Percy then readied his preparations to leave, before Chiron notified him that there was another volunteer.

The air shimmered, and Annabeth appeared. Percy stifled a groan as he watched his friend turn visible. Don't get me wrong, Percy liked Annabeth. Hell, Annabeth would be his first choice for a quest companion, given her enthusiasm, intelligence, and experience. However, she could be such a stuck-up douche at times! However, Percy decided to ignore that and look at her better nature, her polite, caring, and deep loyalty as he relented and agreed to let her on the quest.

Suddenly, Percy pulled Annabeth and Grover into a big group hug, spreading his natural warmth, as much as he could. Grover returned it, while Annabeth was confused.

"Uh, Percy?" Annabeth asked, surprised at the sudden action.

"Just a hug before all of us go to our potential deaths, eh? By the way, thanks for coming. Means a lot, really," Percy gently said, meaning every word as Annabeth started to return it.

"I'll make sure we all go home, fire-man. Count on it," Annabeth said seriously, with a faint, very faint hint of fear.

"I sure hope we do," Percy answered with a smile, while Grover continued to hug tightly.

LINE BREAK

Waving goodbye to the campers, the trio finally left for the quest, but not before Luke caught up to them on half-blood hill, brandishing a pair of sneakers. Percy snickered at Annabeth's blush, while the girl glared at him.

"Heard about the quest, and I think you could use this pair. _Maia_!" Luke panted as the shoes started to grow wings and fly around.

"Thanks mate. I wish the Gods would be that thoughtful among one another," Percy joked, drawing a laugh from Luke before the Son of Hermes said his goodbyes and hugged Annabeth, who by this time was hyper-ventilating.

"Oh Luke, you charmer," Percy said as he observed Annabeth's reaction, earning another glare from the daughter of Athena.

Slipping the shoes in his bag, Percy wondered his knife fighting skills. Sure, he was skilled with his dagger, but he knew he was infinitely better with a sword. Just, there was a problem. He didn't bring one. Luckily, Chiron had that covered, sparing his embarrassment.

"Percy. Your mother wanted to give you this," Chiron said, holding out a ball point pen. The same pen which Percy used to 'kill' the Fury. Taking off the cap, Percy found that he held a leaf-shaped bronze blade, with a leather wrapped grip, and intricate markings along the hilt.

"The sword's name is Anaklusmos. Use it well," Chiron said with finality.

LINE BREAK

As of now, the quest was, well, uneventful. Argus, the camp security guard, drove them to the bus terminal, and they waited.

"Well Grover, if what you say was true, and I smelled really strong, I wonder why no one has really detected me until now..?" Percy asked, curious.

"Because your mother loves you very much, Percy. I would wager that she was the one who used her power to mask your scent. Before all that ruckus in the school, your smell was that of an ordinary demigod, you know. The way your smell started to increase, well, it was like a dam was slowly collapsing, proving that it was a work of a god's protection. And I think only one god would be nice enough to do that, and that is Hestia. She is by far the most compassionate of the Gods, you know?" Grover answered with a smile.

"Oh the bus's here." Percy said, earning a sigh of relief from Grover and a 'Finally' from Annabeth. '_Oh by the way, mom… Thank you. For remembering about me and my dad. I'll bring him back, I promise. I'm on my way to the underworld anyway.'_

There was no answer, but Percy felt familiar warmth around his mind. For him, that was enough. His mother _cared_. Right after the trio took seats at the back, Grover started sniffing as if he found something. Although Grover said it was nothing, Percy was on high alert. Grover never sniffed around like that for 'nothing'. Annabeth also slapped her Yankees invisibility cap nervously, while fingering her pocket, where her knife was. Percy had a hand on his dagger.

Suddenly, three familiar faces entered the bus. Not just one, but three Miss Dodds. Three Furies.

"Oh come on. We can't be _that _unlucky. I just got claimed by Hestia, not the Big Three, shouldn't Hades be, like off my back?" Percy silently complained.

"No one said that The Furies could be stopped from taking revenge. You did make her really pissed, after all," Annabeth deadpanned.

Well. As if that helped. Whilst they were bickering on the best escape route to use, the three Hags(Percy's name for them) suddenly left one by one. Each of them saying that they needed to go to the rest room with a flat voice. It would've looked funny if they weren't Hades' chief torturers.

Annabeth saw her chance. Shoving her invisibility cap to Percy, she asked Percy to go. Reluctantly, Percy wore the cap and crept down the bus, but not before shoving himself to an empty seat to avoid the Fury, who suddenly stopped as she walked. Facing Percy, she sniffed around the air, and a look of triumph crossed across her face as she grabbed Percy. Well, tried to, but Percy ducked out of the way while she and her sisters looked around in hatred.

"Come out Son of Hestia, and Thief! You have offended the Gods, and you will die! Come out!" Miss Dodds proclaimed, while Annabeth scrambled to think of another plan.

Before Annabeth could say anything though, Percy acted. Gathering enough power, Percy let out a small explosion. Not as big as he would usually do, but strong enough such that it gained the Fury's attention. Percy had to buy time. They were in the Lincoln's tunnel right now with no means of escape. They needed to get out. Thankfully, even after being disorientated and shocked by the explosion, the bus driver got out of the tunnel somehow, and Percy quickly went to the driver's seat, and pulled on the emergency brakes. Recovering their balance, The Furies lashed their whips at Annabeth and Grover, who were fending them off. Although he was free to escape and instructed to do so by Annabeth, his conscience got the better of him. He remembered Annabeth's promise.

Taking off the cap, Percy shouted at the Furies, gaining their attention, before drawing his dagger and his sword. With all of their eyes on him, Percy nodded to Annabeth and Grover, as both of them moved to look for an opening. Lashing her whip, Miss Dodds motioned to her sisters to move, but not before Percy quickly let out an explosion and slightly deflected her whip with the small shockwave, although it grazed his sword hand slightly, and left a burning wound which burned with excruciating pain. Disorientated, the other Furies moved, to strike, but Percy, thankfully, recovered enough to dodge their deadly strikes. As the pain from the graze increased, Percy knew that he had to move quickly. Letting out a slightly more powerful explosion, Percy nodded to Annabeth and Grover, before quickly sidestepping, and with two swift strikes, killed the two Furies before they could recover.

Percy, growing even more tired, knew he didn't have much time left. The bus was going to explode soon, if the fire and the sounds was any indication. Thankfully though, the mortals had managed to leave before the fight, but no matter. Percy was more worried about Annabeth and Grover. Seeing that the duo had subdued Miss Dodds, he motioned them to leave.

"We're getting out! Now!" Percy shouted, while Annabeth nodded readily(with an impressed look).

They quickly escaped the burning bus, leaving Miss Dodds to die. The mortal passengers were outside, groaning about their impending doom, while Percy snorted. The hardship it took to kill those Furies.

"Our bags! Our supplies is still inside – " Grover started to say, before he was cut off by a huge explosion.

Percy was surprised. It wasn't an explosion from the fire, but from a lightning bolt. Suddenly, and angry cry sounded, and Percy groaned. Can't she like, die? Then, the surroundings got darker as Annabeth looked on in horror.

"We need to get out of here, now! She's calling for reinforcements!" Annabeth shouted over the noise of the screaming passengers.

Percy didn't need to be told to wait. After eating some ambrosia and using his power to heal his graze, (which was excruciating by that time), he took Grover's hand and ran, ignoring his rising fatigue. Rain poured down, as the trio quickly ran into the woods. Finally, the storm seemed to tone down as a huge sigh of relief emanated from Percy.

'Thank the Gods.'

They were tired, and almost killed, yes, but they were alive. For now.

**This was very difficult. I must say this was a very tough chapter to write. Canon Aus really aren't easy to rearrange. I changed alot of scenes here. Anyway, I hope you like Percy's 'new' personality. Thank you so much for reading, and comment about my writing style. Feel free to criticise, I'm pretty green in writing anyway. Thank you.**

**'Chaos and hate shadow me, pain it fills me up'**

**Alice In Chains - Am I Inside**


	5. Percy's a Smooth Talker

**Legacy of the Hearth Chapter 5**

**Hello everyone! How are you all doing? I have been doing well, although I'm pretty tired after catching up with this crazy World Cup we're having here. Cheers for Germany! Anyway, we left off from the time when Mr. Jackson went into the woods. I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: This beautiful series of PJO does not belong to me. It belongs to Uncle Rick. **

Their luck couldn't get worse, couldn't it?

"Kindly ones. _All Three,_" Grover shivered, while Percy nodded.

"Our supplies too," Percy added, before Annabeth looked at him with an accusing look, to which Percy sighed.

"And what would you have me do? It was obvious you were cornered, and let's face it. I was caught. It wouldn't have made much of a difference, would it?" Percy pointed out.

"Perhaps. But if you had died… I wouldn't have seen the real world, you know. The real world is where everything is, you know. Where the monsters are. It's all good training at camp, but everything is out there," Annabeth said, with a tone that Percy judged as longing.

Not knowing how to answer, Percy simply nodded, and noticed that they were in complete darkness. The storm had passed. All Percy could see was a glimpse of Annabeth's blonde hair as they walked. Then, Percy remembered Grover talking about how Percy's eyes flamed when he used his powers. Maybe if he…

"Whoa Percy! Keep that flame down! You're gonna explode!" Grover yelped, as Percy quickly extinguished his flames.

Percy shivered. He felt the flames becoming too… Big. He was about to chuck that little idea into the back of his mind before Annabeth interrupted. For some reason, Percy couldn't ignore Annabeth's mad ideas. She just never took 'no' for an answer.

"You know, that is _really _cool, and could actually work in getting us out of here. Percy, do it again," Annabeth encouraged, as Percy reluctantly nodded. Grover was of course, whimpering and warning Percy against it.

Percy focused his power again (After about 20 times, singed clothes, girlish yelps, and some burnt trees), but this time, he finally got it right. His eyes were glowing. However, instead of his friends celebrating his 'success', he had Annabeth (whose T-shirt was burned) slapping him and telling him not to 'speak of this'. Her higher voice was awfully familiar, and Percy blurted out something that caused Grover to whimper and make the claw gesture.

"Was that girlish yelp you?" Percy blurted, then snickering at the red-faced daughter of Athena. He thanked his lucky stars though, when Grover cleared his throat and reminded the cowering son of Hestia and the pissed daughter of Athena that they had a time limit for this quest.

LINE BREAK

Percy couldn't believe it. They were finally out of the woods (using Percy's flaming eyes), and Annabeth still hadn't stopped glaring. _Girls_… Couldn't they like, let go? Shaking his head, Percy then smelled a scent he hadn't smelled for a long time. The smell of _fast-food_. Going off to that direction, Percy groaned. Instead of a fast-food bar, it was kind of an antique shop which read… Scratch that, Percy couldn't even read it. Annabeth also couldn't read that weird sign, judging by her frustrated look.

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," Grover finally said, as he silently snickered, although a quick glare from Annabeth shut him up immediately.

"Percy, I have a bad feeling about this place. Besides, you can _summon_ food!" Grover said, but Percy seemed not to hear.

"Percy, this place seems weird!" Grover continued with a sense of panic.

"Snack bar…" Percy finally said, while Annabeth echoed him. Grover could only sigh.

Then, Percy hesitated. The statues at the front were waaayyy too life sized and _realistic_. Grover then said he smelled monsters, and something about the statue looking like his Uncle Ferdinand which further added to Percy's caution. Nodding to Annabeth, Percy delved deep into his Mythology knowledge, wondering what or who it could be. He was certain he was pretty close to an answer, before the door creaked open, showing a veiled, but elegant looking woman.

"Children, what are you doing out here, late at night? Where are your parents?" The woman said, while Grover's hind legs shivered.

Gaining his composure, Percy spoke, "Oh, thank you for worrying, but don't worry, we were just passing by. We just called our parents to ride us home anyway, but thank you all the same. They are on their way now. We're fine on our own, really."

Annabeth looked impressed. Percy had one hell of a silver tongue. The way he persuaded and worded his words… He must have gotten that from his mother. It was no wonder Hestia was the chief peacemaker in Olympus.

"But you _must _be tired, and it is a very long way from the city. Do you want to come in? I am Aunty Em. There is a dining area inside, where you can wait and rest while your parents get here," The woman said pleasantly.

"Thank you, but we're fine really. Besides, we really don't want to trouble you, and our parents are just about half an hour away from here. How about you take a rest, Aunty Em. It's late, and I'm sure a lady like you needs a rest," Percy said cheerily, while Annabeth gaped, and Grover silently smiled.

A pause. Suddenly, Aunty Em said, "You have such beautiful eyes, Perseus. The eyes of an eldest child. And you, Annabeth. Such beautiful grey eyes. Like your accursed mother."

Percy was confused at the sudden change of attitude, until Annabeth suddenly shouted, "PERCY! DON'T LOOK!"

It was then Percy heard it. The hissing sound of snakes. From where Aunty Em's head was. Oh come on! Couldn't their luck get any better for once! After running from the Furies, they run into freakin' Medusa for gods' sake! But listening to Medusa telling her story of how Athena cursed her, Percy couldn't help but feel a shade of pity for the monster. That was before he heard Grover shouting 'Duck!', as he flew in and bashed Medusa in her face, with a huge tree branch. Man, that had to hurt, immortal monster or not.

"That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled before flying back and nailing Medusa again with the branch, as she yelled in pain.

Recovering, Annabeth said, "Percy, you need to take her on. I would do that if I could, but she would rip me into pieces because of my mother. Besides, you have a sword, and firepower. Now stop being proud of yourself and _focus_. Medusa's coming, and she's not unconscious."

_Firepower_. Percy liked that. However, before he could silently gloat to himself about it, he had to focus as a recovered Medusa swiped at Percy with her nasty claws. Percy grumbled. He finally remembered how Perseus(the original one), killed Medusa, but he had no reflective shield to help him. He would use his flaming dagger, but it was too small too actually cut her head off.

_Use the Hearth, Percy. Medusa has a Hearth. Find her Hearth. Only then you can find Medusa. Besides, there is more than one way to kill a monster, you know._

Percy then instantly perked up. He had to really, really thank the gods for basically giving his mother so much free time (he swore he heard a small girlish giggle). However, before that, he had a job to do. Grover went for another swipe with his winged shoes, and Percy couldn't help but think that he would crash sometime. Uncapping his pen, he spread out his power as he looked for, well, Medusa's hearth. Following what his mother said, he finally found her 'hearth' and his friends' too. He couldn't explain it, though. It was kind of like, a fire. A flame of life, if you will. Grover's was lively, while Annabeth's was pretty bright. However, when he finally saw Medusa's, he nearly gagged. It was so black, and… Tainted. However, he had no time to dwell on it as he had to duck a swipe with her claw. Grover was already pretty much out after being thrown into a statue and Annabeth was, well, behind him.

"You wouldn't hurt an old woman, would you?" Medusa crooned, as Percy hesitated for a moment, his pity returning, before Medusa lunged.

Instinctively slashing, Percy heard a _slice_ as he felt monster dust on his hands, and a _thump_ that sounded like something dropping on the floor. But not before he felt a wound on his side, where he felt a talon lodged inside. Sighing, he knew he was going to be out of commission for a day, as his flames set to work healing him. Then, he felt his socks being moist as he finally realised what dropped.

"Ewww. Is that her head on my shoe?" Percy said, while Annabeth slowly nodded, and Grover could be heard gurgling.

Percy then quickly burned the head to ashes with a quick flame blast, while Annabeth said, "Good riddance."

Sitting on the sidewalk, Percy finally remembered Medusa's history, of how Poseidon got frisky with her in Athena's temple, and Athena cursed her for it. Suddenly there was a warm presence in his mind, and Percy instantly recognized it.

"_You know mom, it's pretty interesting that so many monsters that we are forced to fight are pretty much created by the gods themselves. Oh, and mom, wasn't it against the rules to talk to me like you did earlier, and like this? I mean, I don't really mean that I don't want to talk to you, but I don't want you to get in trouble with the Fates and Zeus because of me, you know."_ Percy said in his mind, anxious for his mother, who had the Ancient Rules to follow.

_"__Don't worry about that, Perseus. I'm not helping you in your quest_ **_destination_**_, per se. Just making 'small talk' with my dear son who I love so much. There are really many loopholes to rules if you look for it, you know. And you are right. I do have plenty of free time. And what better way to spend it than to talk with family? Especially to my only child." _Hestia said tenderly.

_About the monsters, let this be a lesson for you, Perseus. The Gods can be cruel. They are not perfect. Oh, and good luck for your quest, Percy. I pray you find peace, someday, my son."_ Hestia finished, truly meaning what she said.

_"__Well that really helps, mom, and really, thank you. I really couldn't ask for a better mom. Anyway, I gotta run! Annabeth's calling. Oh, she's a daughter of Athena, by the way. And she's reeeaaallllyyyy stubborn. And Grover! He's a Satyr. A really nice one. Anyway, mom, I really hope I can meet you soon. Love you,"_ Percy once again said with his mind, before finally responding to Annabeth, who impatiently said, "Let's go!"

Sighing, Percy and Grover followed Annabeth into the woods, where they would camp for the night.

Back at a distant fireplace, Hestia could only smile and say, "_Love you too, Percy._"

Not before she added a thought(while giggling) though, "_Daughter of Athena? I do believe you're too young, Percy."_

LINE BREAK

Percy took first watch. Finding Grover, he said, "Get some sleep, man."

Grover looked at him, and then looked wistfully at the night sky.

"There are no more stars. Pollution... Nature is dying, Percy. At this rate, I'll never find Pan," Grover said sadly, while Percy stared at him.

"Pan… Isn't that the nature god, the one that died?" Percy said, as Grover vigorously shook his head.

"No! Not dead. We satyrs still search, and we refuse to believe that he died! This is why I want a searcher's licence, you know. To find him, one day. One day…" Grover said wistfully, while Percy played with a dim ball of flame he just lit up.

"You know, Grover… I support you and all… But sometimes, we just have to let go, you know," Percy finally said, extinguishing his flame, as Grover looked at him with a very sad look.

"I cannot, Percy. I have to believe that he's alive. I have to," Grover said, as Percy returned a sad look, before it turned into a hopeful and warm look.

"And I'm sure that one day, you will find him. Surely he has not faded yet, because there are such loyal beings that still believe," Percy said with a smile.

"You're a good friend, Percy, you really are," Grover said, while Percy replied with a warm smile.

Then, Grover's look turned dark, as if he remembered something.

"Percy, do you remember the Furies?" Grover asked suddenly, much to Percy's surprise.

"Hard to forget... Why? What is it?" Percy asked.

"Something's wrong Percy. Annabeth and I agreed that they were holding back at the bus. If they really wanted to kill us, we'd be dead by now. There is a reason why Annabeth quickly made the decision to get you out of there, you know. The Furies are Hades' chief torturers for a reason," Grover said darkly.

"Are you saying they were looking for something?" Percy asked, after gathering his thoughts.

"Maybe. This doesn't make sense. You're going to the Underworld to confront Hades… And The Furies are looking for something…" Grover started to say.

"Which means Hades didn't really steal the bolt, I think. This doesn't make sense… But I still need to meet him. The voice in my dreams… Well, I think it's from the underworld, Grover. And Hades is my only lead to it… Not to mention, my father…" Percy started to trail off, while Grover looked at him with a discouraging look.

"You told me something just now, when I talked about Pan, Percy. You told me to _let go_. I don't think your father will be amused if he did actually come back to life, at the cost of yours. I'm pretty good at reading emotions, Percy. Mr Jackson would never forgive himself if that happened," Grover said, as Percy sighed.

"I know but, it's something I can hold on to if I go to a place like the underworld," Percy said sadly.

"I think the night is pretty late, Percy. How about you get some sleep? I'll take first watch," Grover whispered, as Percy slowly went to sleep.

LINE BREAK

Percy was pretty miffed. He got another stinking demigod dream. And this time, instead of a beach, he stood at a dark cavern, with a pit at the end of it. It was surrounded by grey misty beings, which Percy immediately identified as ghosts. Suddenly, he moved. Percy was enticed, almost forced to move towards the pit. He tried to resist, but couldn't. He swore he heard a voice inside the pit laughing at his efforts as he fought to keep himself still, but couldn't. Then, he finally heard it. A voice, colder than ice, and heavy, and also, ancient.

'Ah, the little hero. They have misled you, boy. Come, talk with me, and I shall give to you what you want most'

Suddenly, a picture of John Jackson appeared. Percy looked in horror as he studied the shimmering image of his father, who had a face that was almost serene, of _acceptance_, knowing that his son was going to leave alive. His azure blue eyes stared directly to Percy, almost as if he was apologizing. Tears started to fill Percy's eyes as he was dragged to the pit. His father's image started to fade as he went closer to the pit.

'Help me rise! Bring me the bolt! Strike against those who would betray you! The Gods!'

The dead, whispered in uneasy tones, 'Wake, Perseus, Wake!'

Percy tried, but couldn't. He noticed in horror, that it, whatever the being was, was using Percy to drag itself out of the pit. He could almost hear it chuckling, before he finally felt himself being shaken and woke.

"Well, since you're finally awake, maybe you can see that Grover got a friend, and I made breakfast," Annabeth said.

Looking at Grover, his eyes widened as he saw a," Pink poodle? Those actually exist?"

The poodle, who was supposedly named Gladiola, yapped at Percy while Grover introduced them to each other. Not knowing what to do, Percy waved at the poodle, which seemed to be enough. That gesture was pretty crucial. Gladiola was basically their ride west. Apparently, he had a $200 reward on him, and he was willing to help by turning himself in to his owners.

"So, how does this help us?" Percy said, earning a 'come on, you can't be serious' look from Annabeth.

"You… Anyway, we're going to the train station half a mile from here, and catch a west bound train that leaves at noon," Annabeth said while pointing to the tracks.

"How was I supposed to know about that? I swear… Smart people sometimes…" Percy muttered, before being cut off by Annabeth, who looked less than amused.

"Oh shut up, fried-brain," Annabeth said, to which Percy rolled his eyes.

"Stuck-up mule," Percy retorted, as he followed the others into the train station, where they would finally journey to the west… To the underworld, and whatever was there.

**Oh dear oh dear. This was pretty tough too. I really underestimated the quest part, and thought it'd be easier than the earlier parts. But it seems I was pretty wrong. It is tough. Anyway, thank you for reading. Please comment on Percy's character, on how you feel about me portraying him in a different upbringing, and please do comment on how I portray Hestia as the mother. Thank you, and TOODLES AND GERMANY HAS WON THE WORLD CUP! MARIO GOTZE WHAT A GOAL!**

**"****You know he ain't gonna die!"**

**Alice in chains – Rooster(Live at the Moore Theater in Seattle, 1992)**

**PS. Please do comment on my portrayals on my other characters too, and my development.**

**PS: And please do advise me on my story. I think I need it haha. At any rate, thank you for reading.**


	6. Percy's a Mommy's Boy

Legacy of the Hearth Chapter 6

**Hello everyone, how are you! We've reached the 50 review milestone, and I am truly thankful for all your support. Without all of you wonderful readers, I wouldn't have uploaded this story quite so regularly. Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the next instalment of Legacy of The Hearth.**

The train ride was perfect. There were no monsters, nothing. No Furies out for their blood, no Gods after something that wasn't even with them. Looking out the window, Percy could see just how much the Mist had been hiding from him before he realised himself. He smiled as he remembered a herd of centaurs galloping across a field, and sighed as he remembered seeing a golden and huge, yet elegant lion leaping into the woods. Greek mythology was in a word – Beautiful. Well, if you look past all the betrayal, curses, and monsters that marred it. Percy sighed as he thought about it. He decided he pitied Hera, since she was playing 'mother' to the most dysfunctional family of all time. A familiar warm feeling nestled in his mind, as he instantly perked up, much to the surprise of Annabeth, although he saw Grover wink at him.

'_Hello mom. How's it going well, up there?'_

_'__Nah, just the usual. Zeus and Poseidon are well, almost coming to blows. It took Hera standing between them in her true form for them to stop. I'm afraid you do not have much time left, Perseus. The solstice is approaching, and Zeus grows impatient.'_

_'__Ah… Oh mom, I had a weird dream… It's coming from down there. Mom… I know I shouldn't say this, but I'm really scared… I'm afraid of what I'm going to find. I'm afraid of not bringing my friends home, mom. There is something that wants to be awoken, mom. And not to mention I will be betrayed… What do I do? I kinda don't know anymore, you know? I really don't know.'_

_'__Oh Perseus… Don't be afraid, Percy. Be brave, my son. Do not give in to that being in the pit. Do not give in to fear. If all seems lost, just remember, my beloved son, that there will always be a hearth waiting for you.'_

Hestia left his mind after that. It was so quiet. Percy eventually gave in to his fatigue, and slept. It was the same dream he suffered the previous time, and he could not be more thankful when Grover's snores woke him up. Although, he did have to stifle a groan when he saw Annabeth's inquisitive eyes bearing into him. This meant more questions about him. Questions he didn't want to answer.

"So, who wants your help? You were mumbling about it in your sleep," Annabeth asked.

"I don't know, Annabeth… And the ideas I actually do have is, well, something to think about after the quest," Percy said simply, while Annabeth raised her eyebrow, as if to say 'Elaborate'. Gulping, Percy gave in.

"I dreamt about something… In a pit. That… Thing in that pit was pulling me down… It was dragging me down into that pit, and I felt darkness… I felt…" Percy started to ramble, tears suddenly welling in his eyes as he remembered that particular experience, and something he never expected happened.

He was hugged. By the Gods, was this a dream too? He didn't have an answer as Annabeth hushed him gently and tapped his back with her hand. Annabeth's warmth seemed to overwhelm the familiar cold that haunted him throughout the night.

"I'm sorry for asking, Percy… Demigod dreams suck, do they, eh? Don't worry, Percy… I'm also scared, really scared. I know it's cruel, but I need you remember the rest. If there's one thing I've learnt from those dreams, it's that it never lies. And it may be the difference between life and death in a quest like this. Just this once, Percy, I'll be here to support you. So is Grover. Although, if you mention any of this to anyone, not even Hestia can save you from me," Annabeth said, with a malicious tone at the end to which Percy gulped, while Grover, who had just woke up made a claw-like gesture.

"Now, if you will, tell me about the rest of that dream. What he said. How he felt like. His names, titles, if he said any," Annabeth asked sternly.

Although still reluctant, he felt more confident as Grover laid an encouraging hand on his shoulder. Feeling better, Percy explained. How the being was cold, and sounded ancient. How it was speaking from the pit. How it seemingly tried to pull itself up using Percy. Annabeth was listening closely, and her face instantly became grimmer as Percy went into more details about his dream. Percy could spot a dawn of realization, and instantly, a flash of fear.

"I don't know who that being is, but I certainly know what that pit is. The way you described it, it can only be one thing," Annabeth said with a grim face, while Grover visibly shivered and made the claw-like gesture again.

"_Tartarus_," Grover stuttered, and Percy could swear the room got darker.

"And if what I'm thinking is true, we have something wanting to get out. But it can't really be the one stealing the bolt… Unless… Percy, recite the prophecy again," Annabeth raised her voice now, as if she had a conclusion, and wanted to confirm it.

Percy did.

"We have a traitor in the camp. And I only know of a few beings in that pit that has enough beef with the Olympians to steal the bolt, and incite war like that. The Titans," Annabeth continued, earning a 'Please stop' look from Grover, who was now chewing on the train seat.

"Please don't be tempted, Percy. I know it's your dad who's involved, but please think about it. Hades and the Titans are both full of deceit, cunning and ruthless," Annabeth said, while Percy shrugged.

"But we need Hades' knowledge. That's why we're going to the underworld. And… Hades may be cunning, ruthless, but he's not deceitful. Half-truths, yes, but no lies," Percy said, earning another raised eyebrow from Annabeth.

Shrugging, Percy simply ended the conversation with, "We _really_ must have the shittiest luck. Even Heracles didn't have 2 Gods, and if what Annabeth says is true, Titans after him, and we have all of them wanting us dead or enslaved, or whatever it is, eh?"

The trio laughed half-heartedly.

LINE BREAK

After Amtrak, Percy called for a little break before they continued west. Annabeth decided to use it by taking the three up the Gateway Arch (Not that the two could refuse – Annabeth had the stubbornness of an old cat). Percy truly felt like he could sleep while walking as he listened to Annabeth ramble and mutter and drone (Percy's description) about the miscellaneous facts about the Arch.

Leaning to Grover, Percy muttered, "Boring…"

Annabeth heard this, and quickly doled out a hard, woman-style slap on the back of his head. Grover shook his head, while Percy silently whimpered. Of course Annabeth had to hear his wordless whimper. He wasn't sure he'd forget about the ruthless snickering and teasing that followed.

In the elevator where they stayed in, Percy spotted something strange. It was a really, really fat lady and a Chihuahua. Percy grimaced as he eyed the 'No Pets' sign. How did the guards not see it? He could tell Annabeth had similar thoughts as she eyed the pair suspiciously, her hand reaching into her knife pocket. However, nothing seemed to happen, other than the Chihuahua (Who was apparently called 'sonny') growling. Percy started to relax a little, although he still had his suspicions. Grover didn't say anything about a monster smell, though. And as usual, Annabeth stayed on guard.

At the top, Percy could only gawk at the view that greeted him from the glass windows. He could feel himself shivering uncontrollably. Percy would never admit, nor mention it, but he was deathly afraid of heights. You'd think that Annabeth, ever the observant one, would reassure Percy or something, judging from recent events. Not a chance. Percy gritted his teeth as Annabeth ruthlessly teased the 'hero who's not afraid to take a Fury, but is afraid of being away from the ground for a few minutes'. Grover tried not to show it, but he tried very, very hard not to laugh.

"Oh shut up, you two," Percy grumbled, while Annabeth continued snickering.

As light-hearted as the trip was (at Percy's expense), Percy couldn't help but feel nervous. Should a monster attack, he knew that there would be no escape. Jumping from the Arch was a complete no-no. They would probably be, well, paste, or if they were lucky, they'd break every bone in their body and still be in one piece. Percy noticed the water, but decided against it. He read an article about how jumping into water from that kind of height was not recommended. However, he was brought out of his thoughts when the park ranger announced about the observation deck closing.

Percy led the trio into the elevator, but after Annabeth and Grover entered, it was full. Noticing that Percy couldn't get in, Annabeth and Grover went out to wait for the next car with Percy. The trio had agreed, after the debacle with the Furies, that the group had to be together at all times. None of them were to be alone. It'd increase their chances of surviving if they were together.

Now, there were only the fat lady with the Chihuahua, and the park ranger. The family who was stuck there, managed to squeeze in after Annabeth and Grover got out. It was probably better that they did. The little cute-looking Chihuahua started to growl.

"Now, now, sonny. Are you sure?" The fat lady said, turning to the Chihuahua, and then leering at Percy.

By this time, Percy had a hand on his dagger. Then, the Chihuahua bared its fangs, and the Mist around it began to dissipate. Annabeth looked in horror as it started to grow into a huge lion, with a body of a goat, and a serpent for its tail. Percy couldn't believe it. What started out as a small break turned into quite the adventure (nightmare). Percy then saw Grover point to the collar of the monster in terror. Annabeth, who took out her invisibility cap, quickly knocked out the park ranger. Annabeth then mouthed 'Mortals' to Percy, as if it explained everything. Annabeth then stood up as she assessed the monster, and her face darkened as she realized what this monster was.

"The chimera… But… Aw come on…" Annabeth groaned as the lady started to speak.

"If you insist, son," the fat lady sighed.

Annabeth's blood ran cold as she heard that word. _Son_. It couldn't be. The Chimera's mother was none other than _her_! Percy was on the same wavelength, as he drew his dagger.

"Echidna…" Percy said, flaring his fiery power, while his eyes blazed.

"It's been a long time since Zeus has sent me to test a hero, young Perseus. I would beg of you not to disappoint me, son of the Eldest," Echidna said as she turned into her true form and motioned for the chimera to attack the young demigods.

Percy had to move fast as he raised his dagger to block a giant fire blast from the Chimera. Nodding to Annabeth and Grover, the trio attacked. Annabeth, who was wearing her invisibility cap, started to slice at the legs with her knife to weaken the giant beast, while Grover used Luke's flying shoes to full effect. Percy was, well, trying to wear down the Chimera and stay alive while Annabeth had her way with it's legs. Echidna watched the battle, at first highly amused, but she increasingly turned anxious as she watched the Chimera being worn down by the demigods.

While Percy noticed that the beast was finally weakening, he knew that it was far from over. Usually, Percy would try to disorientate the beast with his explosions, or try to damage it using his fiery powers, but he knew he couldn't. The observatory was, well, quite high up. If he were to overdo it and cause it to collapse, Echidna and Chimera _might_ die, but he was certain the team would not. He couldn't take the risk.

"Grover! The joints! Hit the joints!" Percy shouted over the noise, while fending off the Chimera's slowly, but surely, weakening hits.

Grover complied, and did a fair load of damage to the Chimera. Just then, Percy made a mistake. As he fought, he failed to notice that he too close to the Chimera. Sensing an opportunity, the beast immediately struck with its claw, to which Percy easily blocked. However, Percy couldn't see the follow-up with the tail, and the serpent sunk it's fangs into Percy's thigh. The pain was incredible. Echidna smiled, this would turn the tide of the battle soon enough. What she didn't know, however, was that the Chimera was at its limit.

Grover and Annabeth did their jobs extremely well. Suddenly, the Chimera buckled and tripped on itself when turning towards Grover, who was doing an extremely good job of harassing and annoying the monster. Echidna looked in horror as the Chimera couldn't get up, no matter how it tried. Percy instantly saw it, and took advantage. Ignoring the incredible pain that the wound gave him, and stalling the poison with his powers, Percy threw his flaming dagger into the Chimera's mouth, and quickly told the trio to brace themselves.

Following that, there was a powerful explosion as the Chimera turned into golden dust. Annabeth let loose the smallest of smirks as she couldn't help but be flummoxed over how Percy could be so clever in some situations, yet so clumsy and well, idiotic in others. Percy had timed that explosion very well. There was little effect at the observation deck. Grover was panting, but his face showed his triumph. Percy checked his pocket, and immediately sighed in relief as he felt his knife return.

Then, Percy's eyes started to go blank. The battle had taken a huge toll on him. Although the poison was stopped, it took a massive amount of energy to heal it. The wound was still bleeding, as Echidna eyed Percy with anger and shock that a bunch of upstart, young and inexperienced demigods had managed to slay one of her most feared children, the Chimera. She couldn't believe it. So much so, that she nearly didn't notice the trio escaping to an elevator, which had just reached the platform.

"Not so fast, godlings," Echidna snarled, as she prepared to charge the demigods.

It was then that a familiar hunting horn sounded, to which Echidna screamed with anger. She could not take her revenge, not when that _bitch_ and her girls were nearby to hunt.

'_Next time, Perseus._'

LINE BREAK

"ZEUS! How dare you send Echidna after my son?!" Hestia shrieked.

"To test him, of course. Did you not hear her, sister? Besides, your son slew the Chimera. You should be proud," Zeus drawled, earning a snarl from Hestia.

With a snarl, Hestia's eyes started to blaze white as she glared at Zeus. However, she couldn't do it. If she attacked Zeus, it would start a war. That would defeat the purpose of what she sent her son for, and would render all his efforts in vain. With extreme reluctance, she turned back and left the room, but not before flaring her power at the King of the Olympians, searing his suit. Zeus would never mention it, but his face broke out with a sweat as he watched her sister flare her power. Her strength was as he remembered when he first took his mantle as King of the Gods.

Hestia had contacted Artemis, who was in the area, and the moon goddess confirmed the presence of Echidna herself. She let loose a breath of pure relief, when Artemis added the fact that Echidna retreated at the sound of the Hunt's horn, and that Perseus had managed to escape. She had already lost John, and she wouldn't know what to do if she lost Perseus.

Before that though, she had to warn Perseus about Ares. She had noticed Ares's sudden departure as the quest started, and was suspicious. The war god hadn't been himself for the past few weeks. Also, she had noticed the large bags that Ares loaded into his motorcycle/chariot before he departed from Olympus. It looked like a few bags of gifts and supplies, but Hestia knew better. She had felt the magic around one of the bags. It was magically concealed, such that even she couldn't see its true contents.

LINE BREAK

Grover couldn't be more relieved as they entered the train. Annabeth had sternly told Percy 'No more breaks' after the Echidna Incident, to which Percy nodded vigorously. The train seemed to be the place where they could actually lay their problems to rest, as there were no monsters around (supposedly). It was a few hours into the trip when Percy felt his mother whisper into his mind, but with a more urgent tone.

'_Perseus, can you hear me?'_

_'__Crystal, mom, what's up?'_

_'__You cannot trust the gifts, Perseus. I'm sorry, but that is all I can say. '_

Then, there was silence as his mother withdrew from his mind. Percy wished that his mother elaborated, but recognized that even Hestia had her own rules to follow.

LINE BREAK

Denver was the place that the trio agreed to stop. They were really, really hungry, and the fact that Annabeth wanted to tell Chiron of their thoughts about the quest. Percy tried to summon food, but it came out in very small amounts, and it was very taxing. There was once Percy tried to summon a bag of fries, but only managed to summon half a potato _chip_. They wandered for a few minutes, before ending up in a secluded car wash area where Grover said they would 'IM' Chiron. To be exact, they were going to Iris message Chiron.

Annabeth instructed Percy to give her a drachma (Percy thanked his lucky stars that he cleaned out Medusa's place), and gestured to Grover, who duly nodded and sprayed the water hose under the sunlight. Percy watched as the sunlight broke into colours when it reached the water hose. Annabeth then tossed the drachma into the rainbow, and to Percy's near surprise, it disappeared in a gold flash.

Annabeth said, "O goddess, accept our offering. Camp Half-Blood,"

Instead of Chiron on the mist, Percy saw Luke, who looked to be deep in thought.

"Luke!" Percy exclaimed, earning a brief look of surprise from the son of Hermes, before he broke into a big grin.

"Percy! Oh, and Annabeth too! How are all of you?" Luke asked with a large smile, while Annabeth started to stammer.

Before she could continue though, Percy winked at her and said, "We're okay, Luke. Where's Chiron?"

"Oh, he's down at the cabins. Anyway, where's Grover? I don't see him around," Luke said, before Grover swung his head around and greeted Luke, who happily returned it.

Suddenly, Percy heard music just _blaring_ as a fancy looking car slid into the next stall. Annabeth (who was still blushing for whatever reason) quickly dragged Grover (who was whining about girls) away to handle the rude driver, while Luke continued his conversation with Percy.

"Chiron had to break up a fight. Someone leaked information about Zeus and Poseidon's disagreement, and the campers have started to take sides. The situation's calmed a little, when Hestia personally came yesterday to handle the campers. I don't like to admit it, but you're really under a lot of pressure now, Perce," Luke yelled over the music, while Percy nodded.

Percy could only sigh in relief as the music's volume reduced, which meant Annabeth came through.

"So Perce, what's up?" Luke asked.

"Luke… I don't think it was Hades, but Annabeth and I had thought up of a different conclusion," Percy said.

Remembering the prophecy, Percy had a small internal debate whether to trust Luke with all of this information, before he caught himself. What was he thinking? Luke was always supporting him throughout his stay at camp, even before he got claimed. If he couldn't trust Luke, he wasn't sure he could trust anyone. Taking a deep breath, Percy then told Luke of what transpired during the quest, even his dreams.

"Well, I'd like to believe you, but I don't think so, Percy. Kronos is still in a thousand pieces down in the pit. Besides, if the Titans had awoken, Hades would have already sounded the alarm. Even he is no friend of the Titans. But it had to be Hades. His symbol is the Helm of Darkness, which lets him turn invisible. I mean, it's the only way someone could steal a master bolt from the throne room, right?" Luke explained, before stiffening, as if he let something slip.

Percy caught that stiffening gesture. Again, his mind broke out in an internal debate as suspicion began to breed, but he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to suspect Luke.

"Oh, no… I didn't mean Annabeth. She would never… She's my little sister," Luke suddenly said nervously.

Percy's internal debate continued.

'_No one said anything about Annabeth.'_

_'__How could you even think that! To one of your closest friends?!'_

_'__But he stiffened. And he was there at the winter solstice… He could be the one…'_

_'__NO! He is one of the most loyal and supportive people I know, he would never betray us!'_

Then, a scream sounded from the other side, and the noisy car drove off. Percy also knew that he did not have much time left, as the he was well into the last minute from the water shutting off.

"That was probably those two up to their tricks," Percy said, to which Luke smiled.

"Percy! I don't think we have much time left. Be careful out there, and tell Grover that it'll be better this time! No one will die if he'd-"Luke called out, before the running water stopped and the rainbow faded.

Annabeth and Grover then came out of a corner laughing, before Annabeth turned to Percy and asked about Luke. Percy debated whether to tell them about the conversation he had, but decided to hold it off until he had gathered his thoughts properly. He wouldn't want to antagonize anyone by being rash.

"Uh, just small talk. Anyway, let's get some food, I'm starving," Percy lied, as Annabeth looked at him questioningly.

Then, they went to a small diner, only to find that they were broke. Yes, broke. Percy opened his wallet, searched his pockets, and found nothing. Annabeth was also broke, after buying the food from that other diner the previous day.

"I knew we should have bought the food at a cheaper spot," Percy grumbled, as Annabeth glared at him.

"Well, in case you didn't know, that was the _only_ spot! Now shut up and sit, Fried-Brain," Annabeth hissed.

"So, you kids have the money?" The waitress asked, earning a small groan from Percy.

Percy dreaded the waitress statement about money. He already thought up of a sob story before a giant motorcycle pulled up to the curb. The guy on the bike looked absolutely brutal. Scars marred his face while a cruel look seemed fixated on his features. A hunting knife was strapped to his thigh.

"It's on me. Now move along," the man said to the waitress, who scurried away.

Then, the man looked at Percy. Instantly, Percy's eyes flamed as his feelings of anger, hate, bitterness suddenly acted up. However, he acted quickly, clamping down on those feelings by remembering his conversation with his mother, her girlish, yet elegant voice, full of love and care. However, he kept his eyes flaming, to show the man that although he was a half-blood, he would not be messed with in that manner. It was then Percy realised the man's identity. Annabeth's eyes widened, and she quickly gestured to Percy to stop. Percy did not seem to notice.

"Hello Lord Ares, what brings you here?" Percy asked politely, but with a hidden, deadly tone.

"So, you're Hestia's kid, eh? You have guts, talking to me like that, challenging me like that, with those blazing eyes that you got from your mother," Ares laughed with a hint of a sneer, before taking off his shades.

Ares then turned to sneer at Percy, his eyes also flaming, but with a more violent, and intense nature, while Percy's was more calm, but with dangerous flare. The stare down lasted until the waitress arrived with heaps of fast food. The waitress hesitated when Ares gave her a few drachmas, but instantly relented when she had a knife pointed towards her. Percy sighed.

"Lord Ares, you're going to give immortals a bad rep if you keep doing that," Percy pointed, while Ares laughed, his sneer never leaving his face.

"Who are you kidding? I do this all the time, and no one says anything. Besides, it's a dangerous world out there. Anyway, I need a favour, kid. I left my shield in an abandoned water park near this town. I was going on a date with my girlfriend, before we were very rudely interrupted. I want you to fetch it for me," Ares said.

"What's in it for me?" Percy asked.

"I'll tell you a little secret about your dad. Something even your _mother_ doesn't know," Ares grinned, catching Percy's attention.

"Ah, it looks like I've got you. Anyway, it's a mile west from Delancy. Just look for the tunnel of love ride," Ares said, while Percy sighed, trying to remember something from Greek Mythology that would help him in this matter.

"Well, what happened to interrupt your date?" Percy said. It took all his willpower not to lose control of his emotions.

Ares's face suddenly sported a nervous snarl, something that Percy had been very familiar with when he sparred against some of the Ares campers. There was a pause.

"I'll meet you there when you're done," Ares finished, before disappearing.

Percy then continued eating his cheeseburger, as he eyed his friends' anxious looks.

"Well, we can't help it, can we? Ares is not the most patient of gods, and let's face it, we need his help if we want to get to the underworld, and then go all the way back to Olympus by the solstice," Percy said with a relatively crestfallen look.

"Percy's right. We have no money… No transportation… Just our weapons and wits," Annabeth said distastefully.

"Well, what are we waiting for? It's not like we have much time left," Percy said, after finishing his food.

LINE BREAK

It was near nightfall when Grover spotted the water park that Ares was talking about. It was abandoned, and in the darkness, it looked sad.

"What a gloomy place," Percy mumbled as the trio entered the old park.

Thinking about this place, and Ares, Percy suddenly remembered who Ares's girlfriend was. How could he have missed it? He remembered laughing about the time when he read the story of Hephaestus embarrassing the couple by trapping the both of them in a golden net.

"Is Aphrodite still having a thing with Ares?" Percy asked.

"Yes, and that's why we need to look out for traps that Hephaestus might have laid," Annabeth said sternly.

Right after that, Grover pointed to the sign which read 'Thrill Ride 'O' Love'. Big statues of cupids were built around a large bowl shaped pool. There was a small boat in the middle of the pool, and a shield gleamed on it.

"This is just too easy… So we go there and just take it?" Percy asked carefully.

"It could be a trap from Hephaestus," Annabeth pointed out.

"It's a risk we need to take. I hate to say it, but we really need help. Grover, stay up there in case anything happens. Annabeth, if you would?" Percy said the last line with a teasing voice.

Percy instantly shut up, however, when Annabeth showed him her blade. Percy reached out for the shield, while Annabeth studied what looked like a Greek symbol carved on the Cupid statue. Annabeth then noticed that something glinted in the light, near the shield. Then, her eyes widened in horror as she realized what it was.

"Percy, DON'T!" Annabeth screamed, but it was too late.

Percy had already tripped the wire on the boat, which was also carved with the Greek symbol, Eta.

"SHIT! We need to get out of here!" Percy shouted, before grabbing the shield and running up the pool, which wasn't easy.

"YOU DON'T SAY, FRIED-BRAIN!" Annabeth screamed, as the Cupid statues lit up.

Arrows then shot from the Cupid statues, and suddenly, a golden net fell on Percy and Annabeth. Grover tried to help, but he couldn't do anything. Suddenly, an announcement sounded as video cameras and spotlights shone on the terrified duo.

"Live to Olympus in one minute…"

"HEPHAESTUS! He made this trap to catch that bloody couple, and now we're going to get humiliated in front of Olympus," Percy grumbled in realization.

Suddenly, the row of mirrors which donned the rim of the pool opened and metallic objects, millions of them, sprung out. Annabeth immediately screamed as she watched the objects, which were spiders, creeping after her.

'_Shit!'_

"2, 1, 0!" The announcer screamed as there was a distinct 'click' while the video cameras started rolling and the spotlights turned straight to the desperate pair.

Percy quickly dragged the shell-shocked Annabeth into the boat, where they had a better chance of surviving. Percy immediately let loose his powers as the announcer continued to count down. They just had to last, until it was all over. However, a nagging voice in Percy's mind said that they weren't going to survive a trap meant for _gods_. Not to mention Percy was tiring. Desperate, Percy prayed to his mother for help, hoping that she would at least save their lives.

'_Oh, Perseus... Anyway, you must follow as I tell you. I will be lending you some of my own power for this, as this meant to trap Gods, not mortals. Do not worry; I have received permission from the Fates to act as such. Ares will pay for this,' _Hestia's voice, laced with anger, said in Percy's mind.

Following what Hestia said, Percy told Grover to stand back. Percy then focused his energy into the center of his body, and also felt Hestia giving a little of her godly energy. Not too much, though, as too much would destroy Percy, but just enough to get them out of this trap. Then Percy opened his eyes and released it in one huge explosion. Annabeth was protected as Percy had constructed a barrier of flames around her beforehand. The aftermath was, well, destruction. The spiders that terrorized Percy and Annabeth were all overheated, some even melted, and motionless. Some of the cupids which held the net were destroyed, thus leaving an opening in the net, but the video cameras were still trained on Percy and Annabeth. Percy then quickly roused Annabeth from her shock, shouldered the shield, and quickly escaped from the pool via the gap.

Percy could see the video cameras trained on him, and immediately shouted, "Commercial Break! Adverts! Wait for the REAL couple!"

The video cameras seemed to hear him, and it immediately turned back to its original positions. The spotlights immediately shut off. The park was finally quiet. Flinging the shield over his shoulder, Percy finally turned to his friends and said, "Let's go."

"How about Ares?" Annabeth asked with an annoyed, and angered tone.

"I wouldn't worry about him. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Well at least, when their children are scorned," Percy said cheekily, earning a small smile from Annabeth, and a small snicker from Grover.

LINE BREAK

Ares was enjoying the show, their panic, and their looks of fear, before the son of Hestia exploded with power. Literally. Right then, he became annoyed at the fact that _she _interfered. However, he had no time to grumble as his palace doors were opened. On his doorstep were two extremely angry women. Athena and Hestia were still seething over how Ares humiliated and endangered their children, and unwittingly(he's not all that smart…) directly interfered. If not for Hestia's intervention, the demigods would probably have died.

"Hello, Ares," Athena said with a sickly sweet tone.

"Hmm. What do you want? Still sore about that spider treatment you daughter got? It was pretty funny anyway. And you! You shouldn't have interfered, fire-lady. You know the rules," Ares growled.

"Not when the Fates allowed me to do so. And you, are not protected by any rules that would earn you a beating from me for doing that to my son," Hestia said with a dark and sadistic tone, which caused Ares to involuntarily shiver. The fact that she was cracking her knuckles probably didn't help his nervousness.

"And for your insolence to Hestia, and what you did to my daughter, you will pay. There's still a bit of time before you meet them. Enjoy hell," Athena growled.

Screams of pain were heard as the two women beat the living crap out of the war god throughout the night, while the demigods waited impatiently, confused and annoyed at Ares's lateness.

LINE BREAK

After a few hours, the war god appeared at the diner's parking lot, where the trio waited. Percy was inwardly snickering when he saw Ares's bruised face and noticed his limp, but kept an indifferent look.

"Well, well, you didn't get yourself killed," Ares grinned.

"Was it nice on TV?" Percy asked indifferently, raising a hand to calm the other two, who was nervous for him.

"Fantastic. It was quite fantastic to see two idiots get humiliated by an obvious trick," Ares taunted, while Percy laughed.

"Really? My mom showed me quite a show just now. A show of a war god being put in his place by _women_, no less," Percy taunted back, while Ares growled, his eyes blazing.

"You will not speak any more of it, Perseus… I am Ares, remember that," Ares said with a dangerous tone, but Percy returned the challenge with a flaming glare.

Percy knew that he ought to be more diplomatic, but this was Ares. The God of War. No one can actually be diplomatic with this God. Also, to back down was to show weakness. He could not afford to show weakness in front of Ares, as from what he knew, Ares never helped the weak, and it so happened that they needed Ares's help.

"Hmph. You _do _have spunk after all. Anyway, see that truck there? That is your ride west. You did request for it, remember? And this is a prize for surviving," Ares said, before tossing a blue backpack filled with cash, food, and Drachmas, and pointing to an eighteen-wheeler which had a sign that read **HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT.**

Percy had to swallow his pride as he worded the next sentence. It was pretty humiliating, but it'd get the trio out alive.

"Thanks, Lord Ares. Wait, one more thing. You promised me information about my father," Percy pointed out with a slightly antagonizing voice, while Annabeth gave him a 'be careful!' look.

"Yes, he is alive," Ares revealed, confirming Percy's long buried suspicion.

"So dad was taken. Why?" Percy wondered.

Revving his motorcycle, Ares smirked, "You are smart, yet so blind, punk. In war, hostages are used to control somebody else. Somebody close to them, preferably."

"See you around, Lord Ares. You've been real helpful," Percy said, although sneering in the last sentence and leaving his eyes blazing.

"We'll meet again, punk," Ares sneered back, before riding off with his huge motorcycle.

Annabeth stared at Percy. She saw Percy swallow his pride to thank Ares like that, and felt a pang of envy. She was sure, in his position, that she wouldn't have done that. She'd probably flip off Ares and taunt him at every turn if it was her he was talking to after being humiliated like that in Olympus. However, she inwardly smiled as she recognized Percy's subtle movements in accepting Ares's challenge with his proud body language and the constant flare of his power, to show that he wasn't intimidated. However, when Ares left, Annabeth watched Percy let out a huge sigh of relief and recognized that it wasn't the case. Percy was scared, but he had to be strong and make sure the team came out alive. Grover was encouraging Percy, who was not impressed with himself with the 'overly passive' way he handled Ares, although Annabeth would disagree. It was pretty aggressive, although in a very subtle way.

"Percy, while it's rather irrelevant now, you don't want a god as your enemy. Especially not Ares," Annabeth said, as Percy nodded.

"At least we got out alive," Percy said grimly, before Grover cleared his throat.

"We need to hurry, if we want to take the zoo express," Grover said, as Annabeth started to run towards the truck, motioning the other questers to do the same.

As they were running, Annabeth had to ask, "Eh, Percy, did your mom really show you a memory of her beating up Ares?"

"Nah, I lied. I didn't even know how Ares got so beat up. Well, until he confirmed it for me, that is," Percy replied with a mischievous grin. Annabeth sighed at his immaturity.

Percy tried to think about where the Master Bolt was, but his mind kept drifting to Ares's words about his father.

_'He's alive'_

**Ok, this chapter has taken nearly everything out of me. I am so very tired now. OK. This has been a nice adventure, writing through Ares's chapters, making those subtle changes, making it as though you're reading Uncle Rick's books, yet, not Uncle Rick's books, but something different. This has been what I was aiming for, and I hope you like it. Thank you all so much for supporting, and lets push for 60-75 reviews. RnR, Thank you so much, Sayonara, good night! Also, PM me if you have things that bug you, or questions, or requests for this story, I would be more than happy to reply. Thank you, and toodles!~~~~**

**Author's questions**

**PS. What chapter do you think is the best in this series? **

**PS. How do you feel about the chemistry between the trio?**

**PS. What did you think of Annabeth's slightly tweaked character?**


	7. Percy Goes to Vegas

Legacy of the Hearth Chapter 7

**Hello everyone, how are you! Rocky here! How is everyone doing? I hope all of you had a fantastic month! I know I had a magical month, because of this story and the support that all of you lovely people have given! Thank you all very, very much. If I knew any of you readers and met you in real life, I'd immediately hug all of ya XD. Anyway, without further ado, LET'S GO!**

**Special shoutout to ro781727 for advising and helping me throughout the story.**

The truck ride was in a word – sad. The smell of faeces tainted the air as sickly animals lived inside cramped cages. The trio cringed as they studied the animals. They were in a word – pitiful. Well, that was what Percy muttered as he smelled the stench while looking at them. Grover was more animated. He immediately began ranting.

"This is _humane_ zoo transport?!" Grover shouted angrily, pointing at the emaciated lion who had a turnip thrown in his cage.

"Grover, I know you're pissed, and I am too. But for all our sakes, keep your voice down! Remember the quest!" Percy hissed quietly. Grover reluctantly complied, although he fumed through the night.

"What is it, Annabeth? You've been staring at me for a few minutes now," Percy asked kindly, with a teasing tone, to which Annabeth glared.

"Uh, Percy. I'm sorry for well, freaking out back at the water park," Annabeth said, before Percy shrugged.

"What can I say, Athena's made a lot of enemies," Percy replied, while Annabeth nodded.

"Spiders… Anyway, you know the story, right? Arachne's children haven't left me alone since," Annabeth bemoaned, before Percy raised a hand.

"The Gods… They are immortal… They get away with it… Their children, they don't. The fates, the Gods' enemies, the monsters, they take it out on us, the demigods. And all we get, is people chanting our names throughout history, the Gods saying a small 'Congratulations' and that kind of crap. They don't understand what we really want, which is peace," Percy muttered sadly, while Annabeth traced a circle on the floor of the truck.

"Which reminds us… Percy, Grover and I owe you. We agreed that you should hear this story, about Luke, us, and… Thalia," Annabeth said seriously, to which Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Percy… I was seven at the time I went to camp. A seven-year old like me wouldn't have made it to camp, not alone at least. My mother helped me get help, and I found Thalia and Luke, who were both untrained, but amazing fighters that would probably kill that Minotaur in about 5 seconds. That was the prime reason why we lasted a few weeks before Grover found us," Annabeth said.

"My job was to escort Thalia, only Thalia. But I couldn't ignore the other two, and with Hades hunting us, what was I supposed to do? I completely lost it… And took a few wrong turns… If only I didn't… Thalia would have been alive, we would have been-," Grover sobbed.

"Stop blaming yourself, Grover. From everything that I've heard, I truly believe that Thalia wouldn't have blamed you. Luke and Annabeth wouldn't be alive if not for you, Grover. Thalia sacrificed herself, Grover, so you, Luke and Annabeth could _live_," Percy said, while clasping on Grover's hand.

"But the Council of Cloven Elders said-," Grover started to add before Annabeth cut him off.

"Luke and I never really cared about what those old fat goats said, Grover," Annabeth scoffed, as Percy laughed.

"Grover, you sell yourself pretty short, you know? There's not many satyrs I know, heck, 90% of heroes in the myths do not go near the Underworld, and here you are, willingly accompanying me to go there, to confront Hades, a Big Three god. I'd say you're the bravest satyr I've ever seen," Percy encouraged, as Grover's eyes started to light up, before he fell asleep.

Percy sighed and shook his head, as he observed Annabeth fingering her bead necklace. Percy raised an eyebrow, looking at the strange paintings that decorated the beads.

"Uh, Annabeth, those painting on those beads, what are those?" Percy asked, curious.

"Hmm? Oh, every year, the counselors paint the most important, or sometimes memorable, events on the bead. This one's about Thalia… This one's about the centaur in a prom dress; it was a little prank by the Hermes Cabin. Can't tell you about the centaur, though, he made us swear on the Styx not to talk about it. I'll give you a hint though, you see him a lot," Annabeth said.

Percy choked, getting the meaning. Then, he broke out into loud laughter as Annabeth quickly clamped his mouth shut.

"Shut up, Fried-Brain! Do you want those drivers to hear us! Idiot!" Annabeth whispered venomously, but Percy continued snickering.

Eventually, after unsuccessfully pressing Annabeth for more details (Annabeth had no desire to be devoured by the Styx in her afterlife), Percy eventually grew tired, and slept.

That night, he had another dream. He was in that very same cavern, and this time, it was in a middle of a conversation.

"And he suspects nothing?" The evil voice asked.

"Nothing about us my Lord… But we must be careful; he is more knowledgeable than we thought. Already he suspects your involvement," Another voice, a familiar one, said.

Percy froze, as he tried to remember about the voice of that servant. Were it not for the whispers of the ghosts, and the chanting from deep beneath the pit, he was certain he would have recognized it immediately.

"Little servant, truly, you need to be more careful, or there shall be unneeded _consequences_ that we might bear. But no matter, the deception is set," The evil voice, who Percy had finally confirmed as a titan, mused.

"My Lord… You are well named the Crooked One. But was it necessary? I could have directly given it to you," His servant asked with a silvery tone, as if to placate the great being in the pit.

Percy's eyes widened as he heard that particular title. Although he remembered what it was, he had to clarify it with Annabeth first. It wouldn't be what he was thinking. It shouldn't be. It couldn't be. Doubt gnawed in his mind as he listened to the ancient being reply in scorn.

"Ha, necessary, you say? It is beyond you, little servant. You would have already failed if not for my intervention."

"But, my lord…"

"No matter. We have bought much time. Poseidon and Zeus are ever closer to war. Hestia can only buy so much time, but not if we can turn it against them. And it seems we have a visitor. The boy is here, listening, eavesdropping," The ancient voice growled.

"How did he-"The servant asked with a panicked tone.

"His mother, she knows things she shouldn't, things that others don't usually know, and must have passed it on to her son. I can say that this must be how he is here. His power has guided him here, somehow, someway," The voice growled.

"You see too much, young hero. And I will turn it against you," The voice said mockingly, before the world around Percy spiraled.

Then, Percy found himself in a dark throne room, but the throne was empty. The throne was decorated with bones. Scratch that. It _was_ human bones. But there was something that especially caused Percy's eyes to widen. His father, frozen in time, covered by a golden light was standing at the foot of the horrible throne as if it was a trophy. Then, terrible pain overtook Percy as he felt himself deteriorating. Percy looked in horror as his hands rotted down rapidly, and screamed as he felt his head being burnt. It was so painful… Percy wanted the pain to end… to end… Until he woke up.

"_Hail, the conquering hero!"_

Percy woke up at that point, as he felt beads of sweat come down his face. He felt Grover shaking his shoulder and warning him about the drivers. Acting quickly, the trio hid, with Annabeth just poofing away(As Percy described it) with her invisibility cap, to which Percy groaned. That lucky smarty.

The drivers went back to check on the animals, and they didn't treat the animals too well. Percy had to hold back Grover a few times to prevent him from outright murdering the drivers. Percy couldn't blame him though, as he witnessed the driver demeaning the lion with water. Not to mention the other man just had to mention to the zebra about the circus people sawing him in half, and the fact that they were dropping it off at this stop. The zebra started looking at Percy with a sad look, as if asking for help. It was then, Percy finally relented. Nodding to the others in the trio, Percy gestured to where he assumed Annabeth was. The man in the trailer suddenly collapsed in a heap.

"What's taking you so long, Maurice!" The other driver outside shouted, as Percy quickly acted.

Then, Percy quickly melted the locks with a quick fire blast and released the animals, which quickly ran outside, but not before Grover spoke to them. The other man, who seemingly forgot about Maurice, quickly ran after the animals, with a few policemen after him, who shouted something about a permit.

"Smugglers," Grover muttered with disgust, as he kicked the other man who was out cold.

"Now's let's get out of here," Annabeth said, as the others nodded, and quickly escaped the truck.

"So, Grover, what did you do? I mean, when you talked with those animals?" Percy asked while running.

"It's a satyr's sanctuary. For them to reach the wild safely without any hustle," Grover said, while Annabeth laughed.

"You should try it on Fried-Brain there, you know. Who knows, it might actually work," Annabeth laughed.

"But it only works on wild animals… Oh, I see," Grover said, before snickering.

"Shut up," Percy muttered, unfortunately adding to the mirth.

LINE BREAK

Percy could barely take it. It was really, really hot here in Las Vegas, and the trio were without a real plan after escaping from the truck. Not to mention Annabeth couldn't stop rattling off about the buildings around here. Grover didn't look too much better. His tongue was almost hanging out. Suddenly, the trio found themselves at a dead end, in front of a really posh looking building which had a sign that read 'Lotus Hotel and Casino'. The doorman looked at them, and smiled a friendly smile.

"Hey kids, wanna come in? You all look tired," The doorman said.

Under normal circumstances, Percy would have refused, but he was tired, hungry, and was just really spent. And a few days of rest couldn't do any harm, right? They still had time until the solstice. Annabeth and Grover didn't look much better. Shrugging, Percy agreed. It just seemed right. They would have a little rest, catch up, and stuff.

LINE BREAK

Whoa. That was the word Grover muttered with an awed tone as the trio surveyed the casino. The casino was in a word, extravagant. It was basically a giant game room, with all sorts of things stuffed into it. Not to mention, the impeccable service and a literally All-You-Can-Eat buffet waiting for them. Suddenly, a young man greeted the trio, to which Annabeth returned. He held out a key, which was tagged with the number 4001 and three green cards. Percy almost flashed a smile. Surely they weren't so lucky, for once in this quest!

"Here's your room key! All services paid so no worries! If you need anything, just call the front desk! Here's a LotusCash card, which works in all the rides, games, and the restaurants. Have fun in the Lotus Hotel and Casino!" The young man said with a hearty laugh as Percy accepted the cards.

"Does it run out of cash?" Grover asked hopefully.

"Is that a joke?" The young man laughed, as Percy instantly perked up.

LINE BREAK

The room was awesome. The games were awesome. Heck, everything in this place was awesome. Yet, Percy couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. It was a few hours since they entered the casino, and then a voice entered his mind.

'_Percy! Where are you?! It was pure luck that I managed to find you. There was a powerful spell guarding your location. Wherever you are, get out, now! You are trapped!'_

_'Mom… This place is pretty awesome! It's the Lotus Casino… But it's giving me pretty bad vibes though.'_

_'Well, that's why you need to get out now! Besides, you have only one day left till the solstice! Zeus and Poseidon's hatred for each other grows even more, and it is taking all of mine, and Hera's placating, and threats to keep the both of them in line! But I can't hold that off much longer. Percy. You. Need. To. Get. Out. NOW!' _

_'Oh gods…'_

Percy's eyes suddenly flamed as his power began healing him from _something_ as he realized that this place was a trap. Looking for the other two, he quickly found the two of them and had to literally drag them off their games as he explained the trap of the hotel. The young man suddenly reappeared, but Annabeth managed to push him away, and the trio finally got out, and looked in horror at the date.

5 days. They spent 5 days at the Casino. And they had one day left. One day until the solstice. That couldn't be good. Percy grimaced, their luck turned for the worse again.

LINE BREAK

Thankfully it was dawn when they left, so there was a little bit of hope left for them. Well, assuming they don't run into another Echidna-ish monster, or get killed by Hades.

"Uh, Los Angeles," Percy said to the cab driver, before looking skeptically back to Annabeth. Well, no harm in trying.

"Do you have cash, kid? That's 300 miles," The cab driver said, before Annabeth handed him the LotusCash card to swipe.

The cab driver looked at it, and then at Annabeth, who told him to swipe it. Then, the infinity sign showed. Percy's eyes widened, before he muttered to Annabeth, "Oh, you little genius."

Annabeth smirked.

"Where to in Los Angeles, uh, Your Highness?" The cab driver asked, as Percy choked.

Annabeth looked at Percy, who shrugged. This was a long shot, but Percy prayed to his mother, and a yellow pages book suddenly appeared in his hands. That was pretty random. The driver seemed happy enough to wait. Percy flipped through the book, and instantly found the underworld, which was apparently in a DOA recording studio.

"Uh, Valencia Boulevard, sir," Percy said, before the cab driver nodded.

"Ah, that place. It's been a long time since I've drove past there. You're lucky, lad. It takes about six to eight hours to get there, and you look like you're in a hurry. But the morning's still young, and with any luck, we'll get there by the midafternoon," The cab driver said, before he revved his engine and drove.

LINE BREAK

Percy told his friends about the dreams. As usual, Annabeth asked for titles and names, and offered her opinion whenever possible, while Grover listened intently and was quick to dismiss some of the more ridiculous and dangerous opinions that came out from Annabeth's mouth. Annabeth even offered Erebus's name, which immediately darkened the car. Thankfully, the driver didn't seem to notice.

"But who could it be? I mean, it's got to be someone from the pit, and if the myths are true, the Crooked One's probably still in bits after being ripped up by Zeus," Annabeth pondered, before Percy's eyes widened.

"Ah, the Crooked One! Annabeth, that's what the servant called him! Who's that?" Percy asked instantly, as Grover instantly shivered.

"That's what we didn't want to hear, Perce. That's the Lord of the Titans right there. And this traitor… How would he know that we are suspecting about him? The only ones we talked to about the Titan lord is well, no one except us, really," Grover said, before Percy braced himself to word his next response.

"No, we're not the only ones who know about this… You remember that iris message we sent Luke? I told him everything about this quest. It's a long shot, but-" Percy started to say.

"NO! I-it can't be Luke! H-he probably t-told someone else about the quest, and maybe the traitor caught wind of it. It can't be, it shouldn't be, it wouldn't be!" Annabeth exclaimed resolutely.

"Good point Annabeth. It should be that way…" Percy started to trail off, as his mind launched a large inner debate.

'_Just admit it! HE IS A TRAITOR!'_

_'We can't assume too much just yet! What Annabeth said might be true!'_

_'Did it occur to you that the familiar voice might be him?! How many friends have you made at camp! Besides, the signs are all there! The solstice, his body language, EVERYTHING!'_

_'He's not the one! He might have told someone, maybe a disillusioned demigod in the Hermes Cabin, maybe Chris…'_

_'You won't know until it's too late, it seems…'_

The debate ran really long, until they reached their destination. Percy thanked the driver and alighted. Now, Percy was sure the DOA studios was protected by the mist, seeing as the driver never heard of it, even though it took a relatively huge portion of the yellow pages which dropped in his lap. Annabeth tried to ask for directions, only to be replied with a bemused 'what?', or a 'never heard of that place, kid'.

It got darker, and Percy got nervous. LA was… Different from New York, in the sense that it was chaotic and loud. The place was really huge, too, and there was no set system that he knew of. It didn't encourage him, as he now didn't know how to reach the Underworld before the solstice, considering how huge this place was. It wasn't like the Yellow Pages helped either, as it only gave the address of the place, and had pretty big advertisements on '_Fair Judgments and Free expenses guaranteed!'_ No map though. No nothing.

The darkness seemed to deepen as the trio walked past the darker side of the city. Gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers looked at the trio intently, which made Annabeth nervous.

"We need to get indoors or something. I don't think it's safe out here," Percy said.

"True that," Annabeth replied grimly, glancing at a menacing group of teens who started to follow them.

Suddenly, Annabeth stopped walking. Percy's eyes widened as the trio started getting surrounded by fancy-looking white kids with mean faces. Percy drew his dagger, which caused the kids to back off. But not before their leader, drew a smug look, and started swinging a switchblade at Percy. Percy kept his composure as he caught the switchblade with his dagger, and quickly removed it from the boy's hand with a quick snatch. Then, he drew a fist back and laid a haymaker on the boy, who crumpled. The kids could only look in shock. This was Grover's cue to say, "Run!"

Pushing a few kids out of the way, the trio ran through an alley, took a sharp turn, and finally, found shelter. A store, which looked open, as its sign read… Percy didn't even bother as he saw the words floating off. He looked at Grover, who muttered something about 'Troublesome dyslexic people…'

"Crusty's Water Bed Palace," Grover translated.

In normal circumstances, Percy would have skipped this place. However, they were kind of in an emergency, and still hadn't lost the gang kids who were in hot pursuit. Sighing, the trio ducked inside the store, and hid behind a water bed. Thankfully, the kids just ran past the place.

"They're gone," Percy panted in relief, before he heard a voice say, "Who?"

The trio jumped. Behind them, was a smiling, bald man wearing a classic outfit. Everything about the man screamed 'Seventies'. Percy also observed an ungodly amount of chains as he studied the man.

"I'm Crusty," The man said with a wide smile.

"Sorry for barging. We were hiding from some violent kids and were just about to leave," Percy said, to which Crusty smiled.

"It's alright. They hang around every night. Hmm, you look tired. You want to look at a water bed?" Crusty asked.

Normally, Percy would have refused, but Grover hadn't acted up. As far as he knew, Crusty wasn't a monster. That didn't deter Percy from almost saying 'no', before the tall man decided to clamp a hand on his shoulder and decided to lead him into the showroom that way. Annabeth eyed the man suspiciously, but followed.

Percy gaped as he observed the showroom. It was really, assorted. The beds were all of sizes, literally. There was even a 20ft long one with golden pillows and sheets. When Percy asked, Crusty simply smiled and just said, "For honored guests."

Crusty then walked towards a bed covered in a black, satin sheet, and emphasized on how it was the most popular model this store offered. Then, it started to vibrate, and Crusty broke out into a proud smile.

"Million hand massage. Go on, try it out, maybe even have a nap," Crusty said pleasantly.

"Million hand massage! Count me in!" Grover instantly squealed, and jumped into the bed.

Suddenly, Crusty's face took a cunning look, and alarm bells went off in Percy's head. That kind of look usually showed itself on a hungry monster about to eat them.

"How about you try that one, dear?" Crusty said.

"No thanks," Annabeth replied, as she started to get suspicious.

Following her refusal, Crusty took her shoulder kindly, led her around the beds, and finally pushed her into one. Needless to say, Annabeth shouted out in protest, before Crusty snapped his fingers.

"Ergo!" Crusty bellowed heartily, as ropes started to spring out of the beds.

Ropes suddenly came out from hidden compartments in the beds, effectively tying Annabeth and Grover down by their limbs. Well, Grover did try to escape, before he got one on his legs. Percy looked in horror as he looked at the manner his friends were tied up. Kind of like a torture device he saw in Google a few years before he found out he was a demigod. Kind of like a… Rack.

"All the beds are exactly six feet, you see? Your friends are too short! I can't stand imperfect measurements, so I gotta make them fit. And to do that, they have to _stretch_," Crusty said with a leer.

"Stretch… Crusty… You're Procrustes the Stretcher!" Percy shouted, as Crusty nodded proudly.

"Oh, finally somebody who can pronounce my name! Now, I'm pretty sure you'd like to be in one of these beds too, but before that… Ergo!" Crusty said again, as the ropes started to tighten.

"Er, Percy, whatever you're thinking of, how about now?" Grover whimpered nervously.

Percy knew he didn't have much time. Acting quickly, he shot a few flames to the ropes that held the two, and burning them. Percy then nodded to Annabeth, who put on her invisibility cap. Grover just immediately got the hell out of there and went behind Percy. Crusty then looked at Percy with hatred, while Percy smirked.

"You should have more precautions, Crusty. And, Annabeth! If you would hand us a demonstration?" Percy gestured cheerily, before Crusty was shoved unceremoniously into one of the beds by an invisible Annabeth, catching him by surprise.

"Ergo!" Percy shouted, while ropes started to snare Procrustes' limbs.

"Wait! This is just a demo, right?" Procrustes tried to say, before Percy drew his dagger.

Percy was about to continue commanding the ropes, before he hesitated. He was going to torture someone. As twisted as Procrustes was, he just couldn't bring himself to continue commanding the bed. Then, a knife stabbed into Procrustes as Annabeth became visible, effectively silencing the Stretcher.

"You can't freeze like that in other times, Fried-Brain. You're going to get killed that way, you know," Annabeth said kindly.

"I-I know… Come on," Percy told, knowing that they didn't have much time left.

"Give us a minute, we were almost stretched to death," Grover complained, as Percy's eyes softened.

"Alright," Percy finally said, before looking around the shop.

Then, he saw it. An advertisement flier showing the map which led to the DOA recording studios. Percy groaned in relief, it was pretty painful looking for that place. Well, for the others, at least, considering they were nearly stretched to six feet (Annabeth kicked him, for thinking that out loud). He was sure it was hidden by the mist, because he could swear that the trio had passed by the area once or twice already.

"Let's go. The Underworld's pretty near," Percy said painfully, still reeling from Annabeth's kick, as Annabeth nodded.

**Thank you so much. Happy Eid Mubarak to any Muslims out there reading this story! And also I hope everyone has enjoyed this chapter. Thank you to all, I hope you RnR. Thank you so much, sayonara, and Review! Alright, it is edited. Hope you all enjoy Crusty.**

**Author's Qns**

**1: Do you think this story is unique?**

**2:How do you feel about the job I've did with the Lightning thief? Have I butchered it? Is it meh? Is it better?**

**3: Describe what you think is Percy's character at this point?**

**I'll be doing sea of monsters in about 4 chapters, after I finish Lightning thief.**

**Thank you all. I'll be happy to answer to any specific questions about the stories. PM if you have any.**


	8. Percy's a Smooth Talker V2

Legacy of the Hearth Chapter 8

**Hello Guys! And well, HELLO! How are all of ya doin? Im looking forward to a lovely August. School's pretty tough, but the bright side is that my holidays are coming soon! 4(Now 3, thank god.) projects which are due like, next week are no joke though, zzzz. Curse the Computer Security Systems module! Hacking module's really cool, though. In any rate, thank you for being awesome! 68 reviews and counting… Amazing(For me, at least). Thank you all so much… And I hope you enjoy.**

"Well, guys, thanks for coming, eh?" Percy said as the trio stood in front of the studio doors.

"It's alright Percy. We'll be fine... We'll make it..." Annabeth encouraged, although with an uncertain tone.

"Don't worry about us Percy.. We'll be fine, really. Now let's go save your dad and find that bolt," Grover added cheerily. Well, he tried to be cheery, at least.

Percy felt in a word - grateful to his friends. They had almost gotten stretched to death, and had to deal with him choking at so many crucial moments throughout the quest, and here they was showing their faith in him, trying to be brave for his sake. Choking back an urge to bow down profusely to thank them, Percy simply smiled.

"I could really never ask for better questmates..." Percy muttered as he entered the DOA with his friends.

LINE BREAK

For a place that held untold horrors, and imprisoned powerful beings, the Underworld looked pretty respectable. Well, the entrance, at least. It looked like a regular old waiting room, with some normal prohibition signs here and there.

"Uh, normal? Do you see the 'no living' sign there, Perce?" Grover asked nervously.

"Oh shut up, Goatee," Percy said, causing Grover to shake his head.

Annabeth shut the both of them up with a violent nudge as they approached the security desk. It was quiet, like a ghost town. An air of sadness and regret could clearly be felt in the place. Transparent beings, which Percy assumed were ghosts waited on black, long couches that were all taken. Others stood looking out of the window, with wistful expressions. Some just looked blank, or lost. Percy felt a pang of sadness for those who looked lost, for some reason. Somehow, the dead weren't creepy, or scary like the TV shows or even campfires made them out to be. They were just so, so sad. It was then Percy felt the pressure. It was in a word, crushing him. He would have dwelled on it more, and probably did something stupid, before the voice of Annabeth roused him from that particular trance.

"Focus, Percy!" Annabeth hissed, to which Percy instantly complied, and continued walking towards the security guard, who was looking at him curiously.

'_Perseus, I sensed your distress, and I should have told you this sooner. Beware the cold air of the Dead, lest you be drawn to their state.'_

_'Mom… They're so sad.'_

_'Even so Perseus, they have lived their lives. All we can do, Perseus, is pray that they find peace even in death. Regret is only temporary. Human hearts are stronger than you think, Perseus, sometimes stronger than even some of us Gods. For men have the strength to __**move on**__, while we Gods sometimes only find the strength to __**endure**__. Have faith.'_

It was there Hestia left Percy's mind, leaving Percy with many questions. Questions he had no time to answer, as the security guard raised an eyebrow at Percy as if to say 'Well, what do you want?'

Percy read the nametag, which was a total mess. Annabeth was finding it a similar struggle. Exasperated, Percy simply let Grover introduce the three of them, although Grover was finding it a challenge to speak altogether. The poor goat was nervous to the point of hyper-ventilating as he studied the place, full of ghosts. Percy sighed, remembering his friend's deathly fear of anything supernatural, like well, ghosts. The fact that they were in Hades' realm(The guy who tried to kill him twice) probably didn't help either.

"Uh, hi, Charon," Grover stuttered, while Percy choked.

Who knew the ferryman of Hades looked so respectable. With a fancy Italian suit and a charming smile, the ferryman regarded Grover happily, and said, "Ah, finally someone who recognizes my name properly!"

"So, dead little ones… How can I help you?" Charon asked politely.

"Uh, could you lead us into the Underworld?" Annabeth asked, as Charon sniffed the air.

That couldn't be good. Percy knew from personal experience that if someone from Greek Mythology sniffed like that, it was probably because they were found out. That was essentially proven when Charon narrowed his eyes and gestured with a snarl.

"Godlings. I should have known. You need to hide your powerful aura better, Son of the Eldest. It's no wonder you had such bad luck in your little quest. I heard it was quite entertaining on Channel Down Under," Charon chuckled happily, while Percy slumped.

"So, will you enlighten me on the _real _reason why you're here, little godlings?" Charon asked, tickling his goatee.

Percy scrambled to think of a solution as he traded glances with his companions. Grover wasn't helping much, although he did make a gesture about the drachmas that Ares gave them. Annabeth's eyes widened, and she mouthed, '_Greed.'_ Percy formulated a plan, a really bad one, though, in his eyes. Although, it wasn't like the trio had anything to lose.

"We need an audience with Lord Hades, "Percy said seriously.

"Who do you think you are, little godling, just barging in here and demanding an audience with Lord Hades?" Charon hissed. It was here that Percy broke into a cheeky smile.

"It is because I have an offer for you, Charon. Surely you know of Hades' storied wealth, sir? In return for you leading us there, perhaps I could negotiate an even _higher_ pay that you deserve, Sir. Clearly, you have your work cut out for you here," Percy asked calmly, leading to a raised eyebrow from the old ferryman.

"That's not a bad idea… All these millennia, I've had to babysit these spirits, who don't give me a break with their whining. Ohhh, please let me go for free, please! Ohhh, am I dead? Not to mention the price for this suit! And what do I get? Not a single pay rise for three thousand years!" Charon exclaimed, leading to a vigorous nod from the trio.

"See, sir? You deserve better. More respect, more wealth from The Rich One. And maybe a nice, custom tailored Italian suit to go with that. Also, I may just put in a word for you in Olympus when we finish our quest, that you were the _only_ reason why we managed to enter the Underworld! The favor of the Gods, and more wealth from the legendary riches of Hades. Think about it, Charon," Percy added as he continued dropping his remaining drachmas on the table while speaking.

Annabeth and Grover were slack-jawed. They also bemoaned the same thought. Why couldn't Percy, like, be this clever _all the time_, instead of the times they were in danger? Annabeth found herself smirking at Charon's conflicted look towards Percy's offer. A flash of greed waved across Charon's face as he wagered his options. After a few minutes, he relented. He broke out into a small smile as he sized up Percy's offer. He looked down at his branded suit, probably already thinking about his future custom-tailored one. Percy continued stacking the coins, although he grew nervous, as there wasn't much left to stack.

"I must say kid, you are making sense now. The gods… Lord Hades himself... Ah, what the hell. Might as well bring you along. There's just enough space for three after all," Charon said, before standing up and taking the money.

"Come along now, and do be careful of those bumbling free-loaders," Charon said cheerily, as he led them through the waiting line of dead, who tried to grip on their clothing, without much success.

Reaching the elevator, and after pushing away a few spirits that tried to hold onto the trio, Charon made an announcement.

"Now! As I've said before, that easy-listening dial stays on. Understand? If I catch anyone fiddling with it _again_, I'll make sure you don't see the judges for another millennia," Charon announced harshly, before leading the three into the elevator.

As the elevator descended, Percy heard Annabeth asking, "What happens to those waiting in the lobby?"

"Nothing, young miss, they simply wait for their turn. It's nice if they have cash for the premium boat, but if they don't, oh well. You do realize the Underworld is _really crowded_, do you?" Charon pointed out, as Annabeth muttered something about 'Fair'.

"Death is never fair, little godling. You'll find that out soon enough, if you are truly going to have an audience with Lord Hades," Charon said pleasantly, before the elevator morphed into a boat, along with Charon, who morphed into a dark skeletal being who poled the spirits and them across the large, black river, which hummed with power.

The dark river was in a word, polluted. Diplomas, cheques, and even motorbikes floated in the river, and even glowing words were spotted in the river. Percy noticed something though, the fact that it was being slowly, but surely consumed by the river.

"The Styx…" Annabeth said in awe, as Grover looked sick.

Suddenly, Percy's power started reacting as they rowed across the river. His eyes flamed, and his power started to flare, not in an intense way, but in a warm way as it wrapped itself around his friends. He looked to Charon for an explanation, and got a smile in reply.

"That, young godling, is your power instinctively reacting to the Styx. The Styx, as you can see, is polluted. With broken hope, lies, fallen wishes. Irresponsible humans… Oh dear, Lord Hades got a terrible earful from Lady Styx for that…" Charon said, drawing off, as Percy said, 'Uh, about my power?'

"Ah, where was I? I have to say, Perseus, you are… Strong for a godling. So strong, it resonates with the Styx. Although, I think is more to the fact that Hestia is the **truest** of Gods, and the Styx is perhaps, silently paying tribute to her by silently guiding your power to give _hope _to this quest in a place of well, hopelessness. After all, there is nothing the Styx treasures more than _truth_ itself. Although, I might mention her legendary hate for dishonesty…" Charon said with a curious voice, as if Percy was a very interesting and unpredictable test subject, before pointing to a screaming ghost that looked like it was being consumed by the river.

Percy gulped. Was that what happened to those that broke their oath to the Styx? To be consumed by the river like that? To be consumed of all hope as they were finally punished for their unfortunate lie? Looking around, he also eyed the dead. Then it hit Percy. Why was he here, among the dead? He unwittingly squeezed his friends' hands, which squeezed back. He felt a sense of comfort, knowing that there was at least someone alive around him. Well, discounting that creepy skeleton (Charon). Percy found himself praying to his mother, although there was no answer. He fidgeted as he eyed the mist lining the green shores.

When the boat reached the shore, Percy could hear a growl that echoed off the nearby rocks, as Charon chuckled knowingly.

A few minutes later, Charon stopped at the shore, before saying sadly (He looked a little cheery, though), "Old Three-Face is hungry! Tough luck godlings..."

As they began to disembark, Charon said his last goodbyes and rowed off back to the lobby. Well, before he reminded the trio to fulfill their promise, and mentioning what Lady Styx does to dishonest people, which caused the trio to gulp.

"Well, we didn't swear on the Styx," Grover pointed out, shrugging.

"I'd hate to break a promise, though," Percy muttered.

LINE BREAK

The trio followed the dead, into a pretty long queue at the EZ DEATH booth. The other two booths didn't have nearly as much people read ATTENDANT ON DUTY, although the queue was moving pretty slowly. The EZ DEATH booth was especially fast. It was pretty efficient and neat, considering how huge the underworld was, and the sheer amount people that were going through. Annabeth had to give Hades credit for making it pretty well organized, considering the crowd management needed, especially for the Asphodel crowd.

"What do you make of this, Annabeth?" Percy asked.

"Hmm, the EZ DEATH queue, the line we're following, probably leads to Asphodel, considering how many people's here. Kind of a neutral 'heaven'. It's for those who are afraid to be judged. Those who are brave enough, or are forced to, though, go to that slower moving line. There's like a panel of three judges, which usually rotates between people like Minos, Thomas Jefferson, Shakespeare, and the like. Some get to Elysium. Some get Punishment. Some get Asphodel," Annabeth explained.

"What's Asphodel like?" Percy asked.

"Kinda like a huge wheat field. With nothing on it, and you get to sit there in eternity," Grover said.

"Wow." Percy only muttered, as the trio approached the gates.

The howling of the beast got louder. In fact, it was so loud, it shook the ground. Annabeth flashed a 'caution' look to Percy, who had a hand on his dagger and pen. Then, Grover opened his mouth in horror as he finally saw the monster that was making all that noise. It wasn't like Percy could do any better. Annabeth could only let out a small voice as she eyed the giant monster with fear.

"Cerberus," Annabeth whispered with dread.

As if hearing her, the huge three-headed Rottweiler instantly turned its head towards the trio.

"Uh. I didn't think of this?" Percy said with a squeak, as Annabeth looked at him incredulously.

"But we have a plan… A plan…" Grover trembled, nodding to Annabeth, who looked at him with a 'What?!' look.

"Hey big guy… You must be pretty lonely… I bet they don't play with you that much… How about… You let us pass, and I ask your master to do that?" Percy asked with a quiver.

The Rottweiler's eyes widened, and seemed to light up, before it licked its lips and barked a few times. Percy groaned. That wasn't promising. Percy could only gesture to Grover, who sighed.

"He says that he wants to play, but, you smell like, and I quote, 'nice grade-six human barbecue', Percy. He was gracious enough to tell us to pray to any god we want, though. He says he's, well, hungry," Grover said, but with no hint of a joke in his voice, as Percy started to tremble.

Then, Annabeth suddenly produced a ball and said, "Wait!"

"Can we run now, please?" Percy pleaded, but Annabeth shook her head as she approached to the giant monster with the red ball that read 'Waterland, Denver'.

Percy and Grover both skipped a heartbeat as they watched their smart (crazy) friend try to tame the hungry Cerberus. Percy was sure that the crazy daughter of Athena would have become a large human skeleton for the dog to chew on, before Cerberus obeyed her commands, and started _wagging_ his tail. Needless to say, Annabeth congratulated her 'new pet', although she was mightily frightened inside.

She threw the ball towards Cerberus.

As if to add to the incredible scenes, the big three-headed beast decided to _play _with it, so much so that the heads decided to fight over the ball.

"What are you waiting for, you dunderheads? Go through the EZ DEATH line!" Annabeth said harshly, with the same tone with which she commanded Cerberus.

The two amazed boys just loyally nodded and followed, while Percy pleaded with Annabeth not to command the dog to sit, after witnessing the spirits getting squashed by the Rottweiler's huge butt.

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

The trio was about to bolt through the EZ DEATH crowd, although they were seen off by one of the saddest things that they'd ever seen. The Cerberus, who was still waiting for a ball, was whimpering. The red rubber ball that Annabeth used had long been torn apart. It was looking expectantly at Annabeth, whose expression softened at the dog's longing whimper.

"I'll come back to play, I-I promise," Annabeth whispered.

LINE BREAK

Percy couldn't believe this. I mean, the underworld was too well-organized it wasn't even funny. Who would have thought that it had metal detectors and magic detectors which detected magical items? As if on cue, Cerberus started to bark. Really loudly.

Thankfully, the trio managed to find a hiding spot under the trees as the ghouls called for the furies to deal with 'intruder godlings'.

"Well, Percy. Next time, DON'T FORGET ABOUT MONSTERS," Annabeth whispered sternly.

"It was pure luck I had the ball! If not for that, we would have all, uh, died!" Annabeth continued to rant.

However, she instantly stopped ranting when Cerberus let out a long, mournful wail, as if calling out to his new friend. Percy couldn't help but feel terrible for the lonely guard dog as he waited for the ghouls to pass.

LINE BREAK

As Percy walked through the Fields of Asphodel, Percy couldn't help but think about the dead which passed him. They were whispering, talking, yet he couldn't understand them. Their faces are sometimes filled with anger, a rare peaceful face, a bitter expression and many, many faces of regret. The face which clearly told Percy that they were probably thinking, 'If I had done this… If it was like this…' The dead were in a word – sad.

Then, Annabeth pointed at a black tent that had a glittering black banner which read "_JUDGEMENTS FOR ELYSIUM OR PUNISHMENT. WELCOME, NEWLY DECEASED!"_

Percy gulped as he eyed the back of the tent, which had 2 small queues. The left one, however, caught his eye. It was a rocky path that led directly to the Fields of Punishment, which wasn't very nice to see. Percy heard horrible opera music, naked men running through cactus patches, men being burnt at the stake, and so much more. There was even one punishment, which made him really cringe. The man was tied up at the stake, while he was pierced at, well, parts that men don't want to be hit at. Percy would remember more, but he'd retch.

At the right side, however, there was a huge contrast. It led down into a small bright valley, which seemed to house a very extravagant community. Beautiful colors adorned the grass as laughter filled the air. Percy could literally feel the happiness and the calm from that particular valley. Huge, beautiful houses from every era decorated the valley, as Percy remembered the name of this place.

Elysium.

And if there was something that broke his heart, it was the fact that it was so, very small, compared to the Fields of Punishment. So little found peace. So little, it was depressing. Percy tried not to think about it as he led the trio deeper into the Fields of Asphodel.

Then, Grover's sneakers decided to go crazy. Grover could only panic while his sneakers suddenly sprouted wings and flew across the fields, dragging him away from his other questmates.

"Maia! Help! It's dragging me!" Grover shouted desperately as Annabeth and Percy gave chase to their friend.

Grover almost rammed into the Palace of Hades, but took a sharp turn to the opposite direction as Annabeth and Percy gave chase. The cavern walls seemed to narrow as Grover continued flying. Percy desperately tried to keep up, but it was growing even more difficult, with Grover flying off as fast as he was.

Percy felt darker as they followed Grover. His eyes widened in horror as he started to realize where he was.

"Grover, I'm sorry, and this is gonna hurt a little…" Percy said, before shooting a few beams of fire at Grover's malfunctioning shoes and quickly burned off part of it such that it'd slide of Grover's foot, which had always been a loose fit for it.

Grover grimaced in pain, but managed to hold on to a rock as the shoe that was burned by Percy quickly fell… Into something, while the other still tried to pull him into the pit. Percy, however, acted quickly, and burned the wings of the shoe, and with Annabeth's help, hauled Grover up, before they fell, exhausted from the chase. Percy stood up as he observed the area. A pitch black pit was at the bottom, and Percy could almost see the shoes falling into it. Suddenly, there was a voice. A dark voice which seemed to darken the cavern. Annabeth's eyes widened in fear as she realized exactly where they were.

"T-Tartarus…" Annabeth muttered, before Percy shushed her.

The voice which whispered in the darkness was crooning, enticing, almost seductive. Dark voices then started chanting, as the darkness continued to deepen. Percy flared his power, but it only seemed to falter the chant for a few seconds, before he felt overwhelmed.

"_Arrogant hero… You dare show your power like this against me?"_ The Crooked One's voice suddenly whispered mockingly, before it laughed.

_"Powerful indeed, this young hero is. You would do well to exercise caution, lest your legendary arrogance be your undoing too," _A dark, powerful female voice suddenly said with a sign of amusement, earning a growl from the titan, although there was no reply.

"We have to get out of here!" Annabeth shouted, breaking Percy out of his trance.

The trio ran out of the cave, almost relieved that they were finally moving on. Annabeth had a look of fear as she finally confirmed her suspicions, and Grover was still trembling from the fact that he was nearly _dragged_ into the pit.

"We must see Lord Hades. Let's go," Percy said grimly, as the trio made their way towards Hades' palace.

The palace was pretty amazing, with all the carvings, and the pomegranates from Persephone's garden (Percy had to stop Grover from nibbling on one). Navigating through the palace, Percy led the trio to the throne room, where Hades sat on his throne. Hades was in a word – Godlike. He was extremely tall, with an aura of calm, dark power which made Ares' fiery, intense show look small. It was here Percy felt a terrible weight on his backpack. The God of The Underworld narrowed his eyes as he eyed the trio, as if waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly, Percy felt it. The bag of supplies Ares gave them felt like lead. It was just _heavy_. It couldn't be that heavy. Not when he just cleared the bag out of the drachmas and those oreos. Now, if the cash Ares was that heavy, he would just cry in happiness. Fat chance of that, though. Suddenly, he felt something wrong as he fingered the inside of the bag to check what exactly made the bag so heavy. The thing in the pit must have set off a switch, because some magic or something must have lifted to make an object appear in the bag. Annabeth looked with him, and her eyes widened as she realized what was inside. Grover whimpered.

The object was cylindrical, and dripped with power. Electricity crackled as ancient Greek writings showed around the Celestial Bronze that made up the blade. Percy couldn't believe it. It was the..

"The Master bolt. So, the thief shows himself at last," Hades said, with a note of triumph.

"Now, where is my helm of darkness? Young Child of Hestia, give it to me, and I might not strike you down. My sister will be most displeased, so I am giving you this chance. Where is my helm?" Hades asked with his oily voice, as Percy finally realized what the traitor meant by 'items'.

Percy struggled to keep his calm as he worded his next sentence.

"Lord Hades…. If I may… The helm is not with me, and I swear it on the Styx. Also, since the Bolt is here, I do wish to talk with you for both our sakes. War would not be in our best interests right now," Percy said seriously, earning a raised eyebrow from Hades.

"Hmph, the cheek you have, to talk to me like that. You do realize the consequences for that if you lie, don't you, thief. However, the Styx is indeed binding… Very well. I will listen, Child of Hestia, but do not expect me to be patient. Get straight to the point, and if I hear something I don't like, any whisper, any clue of deceit, you will not leave my palace alive. Understand? And I will watch as you get consumed by the Styx," Hades said with a menacing tone.

"Yes Lord Hades. Now, my companions and I, we believe that something is… Stirring in Tartarus. Something even older than the Gods. And that something has a traitor, a hero who stole the items," Percy said, while Hades listened intently.

"And how would you know this, Godling? Do you have any proof?" Hades asked, this time with a slight frown.

"I had dreams, Lord Hades. Especially distinct ones too. And I know that he calls his master 'The Crooked One.'" Percy explained, while Hades continued his piercing look.

"The Crooked One? My dear old Father, I see. However, this still does not explain one thing. How did the bolt happen to be in your hands, little godling?" Hades asked intently.

"We don't know, my lord. We were given the bag by Ares, and – Wait, ARES!" Percy suddenly exclaimed, while Hades gave a low chuckle.

"You swear on the River Styx that all you said was true, young Child of Hestia?" Hades asked Percy intently.

"I swear on the River Styx, Lord Hades," Percy said confidently, earning a stern nod from Hades.

"I sense no lies from you, Perseus Jackson, for now. However, before we continue, I know you wish to bargain for your father," Hades said, before manifesting a ball of gold fire which showed John Jackson, frozen in time.

"And I will say this, godling. Until my helm is returned, you will not have him. I will hold you to your word, Perseus," Hades said sternly, as Percy slumped.

Half of the reason why he went to the underworld was to save his father. He didn't succeed. Annabeth and Grover looked at him in pity, not that he needed it.

"Now, onto the topic of my father, and Ares. I will say this, Perseus Jackson. Ares… Is not the brightest of Gods. You talk about how my father apparently 'salvaged' the situation when his servant failed him. From this, I can safely say that Ares must have caught the thief, but was manipulated my devious father into keeping the bolt and my helm, and giving the bolt to you," Hades explained as he tickled his chin with a finger.

"And you, who blindly brought it into my domain. You were lucky, young godling, that the spell to unveil the Bolt was delayed somehow, probably unwittingly with your power; such that I myself witnessed it unveil. Else, the deception would have been complete," Hades said with a curious tone.

"Very well. Swear three times on the River Styx that all you have said was true, Perseus. It will annoy her, but it will truly show me whether you speak the truth or not," Hades said.

Perseus complied. Although, he could swear he heard a female voice exclaim 'I KNOW! NOW STOP IT!' at the back of his mind, though. Hades kept an indifferent look as he studied Percy.

"You are lucky that your parent is Hestia, Perseus, or I would not have listened the way I did," Hades mused, before he turned to Percy, who seemed to remember something.

"Oh Lord Hades, Charon wants a pay rise. Apparently, he's remembered about your storied wealth," Percy said indifferently, keeping his promise to Charon.

Hades' eyes were shadowed as he started to answer.

"Why does he not understand, that I have bills to pay to maintain this infernal place?! The traffic congestion! The amount of staff I have to employ for the congestion! Overtime for the Judges! 24/7 overtime for the Asphodel staff! SUBDIVISIONS! The congestions everywhere! Security ghouls to keep those humans in check! Do you KNOW HOW MUCH ALL OF THIS COSTS?!" Hades yelled, throwing his arms into the air in exasperation.

Percy wished he had shut up, as Hades continued ranting. Annabeth's mouth gaped (She was amazed that Hades was such a hard worker).

"And Charon! I've given him plenty of bonuses, and from all those drachmas he gets from the dead, he shouldn't be complaining," Hades grumbled, as Percy vigorously nodded.

"Now, godling. I understand that you wish to investigate my Father's possible rise? Find the traitor first, boy. The traitor knows much. And you do not have much time left, little godling. The solstice nears, and my helm still lies in Ares' hands," Hades said in hatred, while Annabeth looked on nervously.

"Find Ares, and take the helm for me, Perseus. This is a direct order from I, Hades. Do you understand? This is to prevent war. I hate my brothers, Perseus, but my father is far more worthy of attention. We cannot allow him to grow stronger, and I can ill-afford to be without my symbol of power if he does rise. I will ask again, do you understand, Perseus? I will not return you your father should you fail," Hades said, as Percy bit his lip. What choice did he have?

"Yes, my lord Hades," Percy bowed as Hades nodded in satisfaction.

"Now, pray to your mother. I have contacted her, and she has agreed to teleport all of you out of this place to the Santa Monica pier, where Ares will be. Now get out of my palace," Hades said with finality, before waving his hand and blasting them mildly out of the palace.

Percy prayed, and suddenly, his friends were engulfed in flames and ended up in the Santa Monica Pier.

'_Thanks, mom.'_

"I'm sorry about your dad, Percy, we couldn't save him…" Annabeth said, before Percy stopped her.

"The prophecy was right… I was never able to save my dad, and he was the one that mattered most to me in this quest, aside from the both of you, of course. Not the bolt. And Ares, who was the one who turned and tried to incite a three-way war between the big three, although granted, he was manipulated by the Crooked One. Hades was surprisingly helpful, though," Percy said, earning a frown from Grover.

Percy couldn't blame him. Grover, after all, had seen his friend die because of Hades' actions. Not to mention the way he was nearly killed twice by Hades' monsters. However, Percy now at least, finally had a plan. He was going to take the bolt back into Olympus. And most important of all, he wanted to have some payback to a God that almost tricked him into inciting a three-way war. Oh, not to mention it was a direct order from Hades, so it wasn't like he could back out. Oh well.

Percy's luck kinda sucks after all, eh?

**Okay I'm done. Thank you all so much. Now, I've posted this chapter relatively ahead of schedule, and that's partly because I have zero guarantee of being active in the next week. I have a few project submissions next week, and also a presentation. I also have a couple of End-Of-Module Quizzes for my hacking and security modules respectively, so I hope you understand. Thank you so very much for reading, it really makes me feel very warm in my heart. Much love, everyone, and do review your thoughts on this story. Feel free to PM me if you have advice, or questions in regards to this story.**

**Author's Questions**

**1:How do you feel about Percy's diplomatic interactions?**

**2:How do you feel about Percy's interaction with Hades?**

**3:What are the weaknesses and strengths you can glean from my writing?**

**Thank you so much, everyone. I love you all, from Rocky/TrueArt.**


	9. Percy Is Scared

Legacy of The Hearth Chapter 9

**Hello guys, how are all of you? I am extremely exhausted, and am having a ravenous, demonic need for COOKIES. Real, homemade, cookies. No, Percy, not the blue ones. Real Famous Amos ones. Anyway, I hope you had a fantastic break, and I hope you enjoy what I have in store here. Without further ado, LET'S GO!**

Percy looked around the beach, and he found him. A brutal, scarred man seemed to be waiting for the trio with a large, cocky sneer.

"You're not dead after all, kid. Not bad. Not bad at all," Ares mocked, as Percy's anger grew.

Remembering what Hades said, the trio kept calm. Percy looked into Ares' blazing eyes, but not before flaring his own power to protect the trio from Ares' godly pressure. His anger growing, Percy let his power loose as he glared with blazing, molten eyes. Ares only grinned as he sized up the young son of Hestia, and let loose a bellow of laughter.

"Lord Ares, why did you betray the Olympians? Surely you know of the cost?" Percy asked carefully, as Ares laughed louder.

"Why should I care about the cost, when here I am on the brink of starting war, glorious war?! A three way fight between brothers! Or perhaps even HESTIA HERSELF?! You should have died in the Underworld, kid," Ares said, while Percy listened in disgust.

"But they're your family!" Annabeth shouted.

"The bloodier, the better. And fights within families tend to be the bloodiest," Ares said with a sick grin, as Percy scowled, slowly losing control.

"How dare you, Lord Ares. For you start war within your family for something as petty as your bloodlust… I must ask, Lord Ares, why go through all this cloak-and-dagger just to send the Bolt to Lord Hades? Surely, you would have kept it? With two of the Big Three's symbols of power, you would have been unstoppable? And Zeus and Hades would still have blamed each other, no?" Percy asked, wanting to confirm something.

"Yeah, you're right… Why didn't I..?" Ares started to glaze over, as Annabeth's eyes widened in realization.

"Unless, someone else told you to do it?" Percy pressed, as Ares' eyes started to smoke.

"Obviously not, I take orders from no one! I am Ares, the God of War!" Ares proclaimed, while Percy simply smirked.

"Lord Hades saw right through you, Lord Ares. You caught the traitor who stole those items, didn't you? But you didn't bring him back to Olympus. You let him go. The Crooked One hit the jackpot when it was you, not Athena and the other loyal, _wiser_ Gods, who caught the traitor. Face it, Lord Ares. You were _manipulated_. By a true master of war," Percy taunted, as Ares' anger grew.

"Didn't I tell you, _boy_, I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS! NOT FROM DREAMS, NOT FROM ANYWHERE! I AM WAR! You'd best remember it," Ares said dangerously, as Annabeth smirked.

"No one said anything about dreams, Lord Ares," Annabeth said softly, as the War God shook with further anger.

That was the breaking point, as Ares drew his sword, and after a few tense moments, finally talked, this time with a cold sneer.

"Oh well, kid. I can't let you go to Olympus alive, not when you have her silver tongue. They might just listen to your poison, kid. So, it looks like you have to die after all," Ares said coldly, as a bronze war helmet gleamed in his arms.

"The Helm of Darkness…" Grover whimpered, as Percy drew Riptide and his magical dagger.

Then, Ares snapped his fingers to summon a huge wild boar. Percy merely raised an eyebrow, as he looked at Ares with a mocking smile.

"The other Gods are probably watching this fight, Lord Ares. And here you are, sending your own little servants to fight your own battles for you," Percy taunted, as Ares gritted his teeth.

Regaining his composure, Ares smiled and leered, "You've only got one talent, kid, and that is crying for mama. I don't think I can really count how many times she bailed out your worthless, weak self, from failing. You don't have what it takes, kid. I wouldn't need to be directly fighting to deal with a momma's boy like you."

"And I wouldn't need to be running back to Lord Zeus to explained just _how_ a chopped up immortal, in the pit, managed to whisper in a _God's_ mind and manipulate him like a _puppet_," Percy countered, as the boar charged.

This wild boar's charge, as powerful as it looked, it was awfully predictable. Acting quickly, Percy sidestepped the wild boar, and with deadly precision, struck downwards to its tough neck with Riptide, effectively disorienting it as he narrowly missed the vital spot that Luke had taught him to aim at. However, the creature was disoriented, allowing Percy to take advantage as he focused his powers through his dagger, and burned a hole through the hapless wild boar.

"So, what's it going to be, Ares? Either way, I have a direct order from Lord Hades to retrieve his Helm of Darkness from your hands, whatever the means," Percy said, as Ares sneered.

"You are truly asking for it, boy… Very well, whatever the means, you say? Then I think you will be meeting him again very soon. Without a head, and with a personal letter to send you into Punishment, while your mother is forced to deal with the fact that she failed, _again_," Ares growled, before he took out a baseball bat, and turned it into a giant, two-handed sword.

"Don't die, Percy…" Annabeth said sadly, before giving him her camp necklace.

Grover patted him on the shoulder, and managed to choke out, "The satyrs stand behind you, Perce."

"You all done saying your last prayers? Come, kid, we have plenty of time anyway," Ares snarled, as he charged towards Perseus, who took a defensive position.

LINE BREAK

Percy couldn't doubt it. Ares was _powerful_. Added to that, he had _experience_, and had more strength than 10 tiger tanks. It took all of Percy's concentration to prevent him from being cut into ribbons. The only time when Percy even came close was when after sidestepping Ares' wild strike, Percy, while falling, blasted a powerful explosion of fire, which seared Ares' jacket. However, he was not to be given any time as Ares quickly recovered and thrust at Percy, who was forced to divert his fall by firing a stray explosion to prevent him from being skewered by Ares' blade.

Ares, however, quickly took the upper hand again. Percy mistimed a thrust, allowing Ares to easily sidestep, disarm him, and land a powerful kick that sent Percy flying into the sand. Ares, not willing to let a disoriented Percy recover, immediately went in for the kill. Percy recognized the danger, and quickly drew his dagger and shot a powerful blast of flame that Ares seemed to have predicted, and easily dodged.

"Admit it, kid. You're not on my league. I'm just toying with you," Ares smirked, twirling his blade further, as Percy took advantage of the delay and recovered Riptide.

Then, as if to add to the madness, a group of cops came to interfere, only for Ares to surround the area with fire to keep the mortals out.

"Begone, mortals!" Ares bellowed, as he intensified the flames, causing the policemen to flee.

Percy, though, was inwardly sighing with relief. He had finally gathered enough power for this attack, and Ares was the one who gave him the opportunity, by his endless taunts, delays, and his 'matter' with the policemen mortals. As Ares turned back, he was taken by surprise as he felt an incredible amount of energy coursing from Perseus. A bead of sweat formed as he observed the heat. Never before he had felt such raw power from a demigod. Was this the power of his Aunt, the power of a First-born? He couldn't answer as his adversary took advantage of his momentary trance and attacked.

'A forward thrust? How arrogant Perseus,' Ares smirked as he slashed his sword upward, and pushed Percy up mid-air.

Percy knew this had to work. Ares had already prepared a slicing stance, which was probably for the kill. Percy then, in mid-air, exploded with fire as he loosed the powerful energy that he focused in his centre. Ares, not expecting the attack, was driven to the ground by the explosion, and heavily disorientated. Also, Percy made it such that the fire had obscured Ares' vision, while Percy used his power to locate Ares, and deal the final blow. With his vision, Percy quickly located Ares, and threw his dagger at the God, who was too disorientated to notice. Not to mention, he was still blinded by the flames that surrounded him. He could only look in shock as he saw a dagger pierce his stomach.

Suddenly, there was silence as the blade hit its mark. Ares sat up in pure shock as he eyed the dagger that was lodged in his stomach. Ichor poured out of it as he started to roar in frustration, and anger. The ground shook as Ares continued roaring. Ares, with eyes full of vengeance, then started to walk towards Percy, who was utterly spent, and could ill-afford Ares to attack him again. Annabeth could only look in fear as she saw the war god walk towards Percy, who was in no condition to fight anymore.

Then, Ares stopped. A cold presence washed over the beach, as Percy started to hear a soft, cruel laugh. Time seemed to slow as darkness started to claw into Percy's heart, filling him with hopelessness, and despair.

Silence. The only thing that could actually be heard was the police cars and the trees around burning as a result of Percy's powerful attack, and Ares' ring of fire. Annabeth and Grover could only look shocked as they eyed their friend. Ichor continued to flow as Ares lowered his sword.

"You have made an enemy, Perseus. Every time you raise your blade in battle, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus. Beware, Son of Fire, Beware," Ares said darkly, before glowing.

"Percy! Look away!" Annabeth exclaimed, as he complied, knowing that he'd burn into ashes if he looked at Ares' true divine form.

Well, he was about to muse on Ares' last words before he felt his mother's warmth engulf his mind.

'_Oh, Perseus… You had me very worried… Perseus, do NOT use that power to look at a God's life force! Do you realise how close you came to having your eyes burned into ashes?! A God is different, Perseus! And Perseus, do be careful next time, please. Please trust what I say next time, okay? A-Ares is r-right, Perseus. I w-wouldn't know what to do if I-I lost y-you,' _

'_It's alright, mom, it's alright…'_

Percy was knocked out of his thoughts, however, when creatures with leathery wings flew towards him, and beckoned him towards the Helm of Darkness which lay on the beach. Percy, getting the message, took the Helm, and gave it to the Alecto, who looked more disappointed than impressed. She must have rued the day when she missed the chance to tear Percy apart. Percy shrugged.

"Return that to Lord Hades. I have kept my word, now it is his time to keep his," Percy said, as Alecto licked her lips.

"A child of Hestia indeed… Become a true hero, Perseus, lest you come into my clutches… And if that time comes, there will be nothing to save you," Alecto cackled, while her sisters followed.

Grover and Annabeth, however, still gaped.

"Percy, that was so incredibly…" Grover started to say.

"Terrifying…" Annabeth continued.

"Crazy…" Grover said with a faraway look.

"And… YOU DIDN'T DIE!" Grover and Annabeth shouted at the same time as they embraced the tired, but smiling son of Hestia, who was all but relieved, too.

LINE BREAK

"Did you feel that, before Ares, like, left?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, you don't think that was..?" Annabeth asked fearfully, while Grover made a claw gesture.

"I don't think there's any doubt already. I mean, even Lord Hades seems to think so. It's Kronos, Lord of the Titans," Percy said grimly.

"We must tell the Gods… But we need to reach there by tonight, and the only way we're gonna go is well, if we fly," Annabeth said fearfully.

"But now, we have something to go with. Okay, here goes. Lord Zeus, if you blast us out of the sky, if you bolt gets into some mortal's hands, and he happens to recycle it with some rubbish…" Percy started to trail off, before a particularly loud thunderclap struck.

"WHOA!" Grover shouted, as Percy winked.

"I think he got the message. Let's go," Percy said cheekily, as Annabeth shook her head at her friend's antics.

LINE BREAK

The plane ride was relatively peaceful, with Hestia giving Percy 'pep talks' about his oncoming audience with Zeus.

'_Perseus, make sure to address my brother FIRST. He does not really take kindly to being, ah, second. He's funny that way. Oh, Perseus, be sure to keep your snarky responses to a minimum. My brother, unlike most, is ultra-sensitive, and he'd sulk if you did that. Well, he'd blast you before sulking, I'll stop him. Oh, there was this one time where he'd…'_

Percy continued to listen as Hestia told him embarrassing stories about Zeus, and showed him the lighter side of Olympus, which he really appreciated. He'd seen too much of the dark side of it anyway. Betrayal, fights, deception… Touching down at La Guardia, the trio made their way to the Empire State Building, where Olympus was. Percy could swear he breathed for two seconds straight in relief.

Going to the guard at the front desk, Percy said, "Six-hundredth floor, please?"

"No such thing as six hundredth floor, lad," The guard said, as Annabeth sighed.

"Six hundredth floor, please. And don't lie, you're the same guard that gave me the key card at the last winter solstice," Annabeth told, earning a sigh from the guard.

"No appointments, no audience, kids. Lord Zeus doesn't just see anyone," the guard said, before Percy put a finger on his lips with a cheeky look.

Unzipping the bag, Percy decided to have some fun by showing the Master Bolt to the guard and saying, "Not even if we have his Symbol. Oh, did I forget? The solstice is kind of today, ya know? And if I'd-"

"Alright, alright! Make sure you're alone, though. And do be careful. Just in case your audience… Goes wrong… Use this key card," The guard said darkly, as he nodded to the elevator.

"Uh, Annabeth, the guard kinda makes a good point…" Percy said.

"We're going with you, Percy. We're a team," Grover said, before Percy held up a hand.

"Well, the team kind of needs to divide their work load. How about the both of you go to Chiron and tell him what we learned? I'll tell Lord Zeus. Don't worry about me, alright?" Percy said kindly, as Annabeth nodded.

"Alright, Fried-Brain… Just don't die, or get blasted off Olympus," Annabeth said and walked away with Grover, who gave him a thumb's up.

"Hey! Hurry up! The solstice isn't going to wait for your incessant babbling!" The guard exclaimed, as Percy laughed, and entered the lift, and slipped the key card.

LINE BREAK

Percy groaned in relief as he left the lift. That was some of the worst music he had ever heard. However, he thought nothing of it soon enough when he looked upon the bridge he was walking on. A narrow marble walkway led up to Olympus as he continued gripping the railings as hard as he could. He could swear he heard his mother giggle as he struggled to go past the walkway.

When he finally reached its end, however, he froze. He could literally feel his jaw slacken as he observed Mt Olympus. It was basically a huge city, which looked to be in a festive mood. Everyone he saw was happy. It was so pleasant; he had nearly forgotten that Olympus had an impending civil war if he didn't return the bolt. He heard nymphs and dryads whispering, and other groups who whispered among themselves as Percy walked past them.

Walking up the main road, Percy then caught sight of the main palace, which looked extremely familiar. Then it hit him, it was basically Hades' palace, only that it was white and silver. He felt sad, as he thought about Hades who was essentially booted down into the underworld, and built his palace to resemble this one, except that there was no family to welcome him, other than his wife Persephone. It would have made anyone feel bitter. Not to mention the expenses needed (Hades had made that pretty clear).

Walking through the palace, Percy entered the colossal throne room, where two Gods were seated on their respective thrones. Percy went forward, and shuddered as he felt their immense power. He didn't need to be a genius to know who these two were. Zeus, King of the Olympians, and Poseidon, Lord of the Seas.

The tension in the air was palpable as Percy felt their power discretely clashing against each other.

"Lord Zeus… Lord Poseidon… "Percy started to say, before Zeus spoke.

"Hmm, so this is the son of Hestia, the smart-mouth," Zeus drawled, while Percy sighed.

"Lord Zeus, with all due respect, you do have an unhealthy track record of blasting demigods out of your sky. I couldn't take any chances," Percy said, as Poseidon chuckled.

Zeus sighed, and said, "I knew I should have blasted you out of the sky."

"And risk destroying your bolt, or to put it in the boy's terms, _recycled with trash_? Let's hear him out first, brother," Poseidon said, as Zeus grumbled something about 'rude boys these days.'

"Very well, Perseus. We have watched some parts of your quest on Hephaestus TV, but I want to hear it from you yourself. Tell me everything," Zeus said sternly.

Percy gulped and complied, while gingerly taking out the bolt and laying it by Zeus's feet. Zeus, who created a thunderbolt, threw it down, and contemplated a response.

"The boy has sworn on the Styx, and has spoken he truth… Very well, there will be no fighting. However, Ares, what drove him to disobey me? He has always been loyal after all," Zeus mused.

"He has his own flaws. It runs in the family," Poseidon said, before Percy interrupted.

"My Lords, if I may…" Percy said, getting the elder Gods' attentions.

"Ares did not act of his own accord, my Lord. Lord Hades and the quest-members had a talk about this, and we came to a conclusion. Lord Ares was influenced, my Lords. By Kronos, Lord of the Titans," Percy said, as the room darkened.

At this point, Zeus and Poseidon shared a very grim look as they discussed in hushed voices.

"And what proof do you have of this, young Perseus? Hades is true to his word, yes, but for a deduction like this, there must be absolute proof. The Titan Lord's rise is not one to be taken lightly," Poseidon said dangerously.

Percy then went on to describe his dreams, about the being in the pit, how it would influence him. He also described how Ares had unwittingly admitted that he also had dreams that had influenced him. Finally, he described his experience in the entrance of Tartarus.

Zeus and Poseidon had another hushed discussion, before Zeus held up a hand.

"We shall speak of this no more. I must go personally to purify this Master Bolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint on its metal," Zeus said.

"You have done well, boy. You did more than many heroes have accomplished for the length of their lives. For that, I will spare your life. My sister will not accept any less anyway… I must keep the peace of the family," Zeus mused, before blasting away in a shot of lightning.

Poseidon shook his head.

"Always the dramatic one, your uncle. Now go meet your mother, I'm sure she's waiting around here. And… As Zeus has said, you have done well, young hero. Be a true hero, Perseus. And tell your mother I said hello," Poseidon said, and winked as he flashed away.

Then, Percy felt a familiar presence which cheekily went into his mind and said, _'Behind you, Percy!'_

He turned to find a woman that he had been waiting to meet for a long time. His mother. He felt tears running down his cheeks as he embraced his mother, savouring in her warmth, while she poured all her love into her embrace. She missed her child terribly.

"Oh, Perseus, my child… You have grown. I'm so sorry for not being there when you were alone, Perseus, I'm so sorry for not giving you the peace that you deserve," Hestia said as she buried her face on her child's shoulder.

"It's alright, mom, it's alright… After all, it's all worth it now, isn't it? It's all worth it. Especially when I have the people to do it with me now, eh?" Perseus smiled, thinking about his friends, before he saw his mother try to give a stern look.

"What did I say about not trusting the gifts, Perseus! Do you know how much you scared me, fighting Ares like that?" Hestia said sternly, as Perseus looked to the side sheepishly.

Then, Percy thought about his suspicions about Luke, as Hestia looked at him in concern.

"What is it, Perseus? Why the long face?" Hestia said kindly, taking Percy by surprise.

"I-it's nothing mom. It's just that, I'm scared of being betrayed," Percy said sadly, as his mother shushed him.

"What did I tell you Perseus? Even when you are alone, there will always be a hearth waiting for you. And I know for a fact that I would never, ever do anything to betray you," Hestia said, comforting Percy.

"Now, I want to know what my son has been doing for the past six years. So, why don't you tell me?" Hestia said happily, as Percy willingly complied.

Percy wondered how long he talked with his mother, but he didn't care much. When he was with his mother, all his troubles seemed to go away, to be washed away. Percy would also never forget the look of pure happiness at Hestia's face when he talked about Hades' deal with him about his father. After a while though, Hestia had to go back to her duties, but not before seeing off Perseus.

"I'll see you again sometime, okay? Do not let this traitor weigh down upon your heart, my son. Do not let my father have a reason to manipulate you. Do not worry about the Olympians, Perseus. No matter how far away I am, I have sworn, and will swear again, on the Styx that I will do everything in my power to protect you, as long as it's within the rules. Oh, don't worry about Zeus, it's just one of his quirks," Hestia said and winked, before kissing Percy's forehead and teleporting him to his old house.

Percy could only look in shock as he saw his father sitting on the coffee table, smiling.

"Dad!" Percy shouted as he threw his arms on his father, who tightly returned it.

"After all these years of failing you, my boy. Never again… I hope you forgive me, my boy Percy," John said as Percy felt hot tears on his shoulders.

"It's alright dad… It's all going to be worth it, it's all going to be-" Percy said, before fainting out of exhaustion.

John merely shook his head, and kissed Percy on his forehead, before he drove his son to Camp. The summer wasn't over anyway.

LINE BREAK

The trio met at half-blood hill, where Percy could still feel wobbly.

"Easy there, fire-boy. Why do you always pass out?" Annabeth said, shaking her head.

"You think I know? Oh, Annabeth, looks like you kept your promise after all, we're all home," Percy said with a warm smile.

"And alive," Grover said with a chuckle.

Annabeth couldn't help but grin, too.

As they entered camp, they were given a pretty warm response, as they were after all, one of the few hero 3-man-teams that came back home whole. The shrouds were interesting to say the least. Annabeth's was beautiful.

"Whoa Annabeth, that shroud is just too beautiful. Now if you really got buried with it…" Percy said, then giggling.

"Shut up, Fried-Brain. I'd be rolling in my grave if I was buried with a shroud like yours anyway," Annabeth scowled, punching the giggling boy.

His shroud was interesting. The Ares Cabin volunteered to make it, and it wasn't pretty. It was basically a bed sheet with a bad drawing of a hearth, and the word "FRIED-BRAIN" at the middle. He could see Grover trying not to laugh as the campers burnt it.

The whole camp was well, a party. The only ones not in the mood were the Ares campers, who were still miffed at how their father was disgraced and humiliated by a 12 year old demigod. Percy wasn't sure about the 'humiliated' part, but oh well. Dionysus, as usual, groaned about the camp and how the 'little brat didn't get himself killed'. Annabeth just had to laugh, of course.

"Percy!" Chiron's voice called.

"Yes, Chiron? What's up?" Percy asked.

"Your mother also has a welcome-home present for you. Now come!" Chiron said before galloping away to the cabins area.

Percy fought to catch up, but had to catch a breath as he eyed his gift. His very own Hestia Cabin.

"Your mother, well, got into quite the talk with Zeus to agree to this, but he agreed, and here it is," Chiron said warmly.

The Hestia Cabin looked like a large vacation cabin, with the name HESTIA in front. It was not a number, as Hestia wasn't one of the Olympian council. When Percy went in, he could literally smell the comfort inside. There were a fair ton of wooden bunks, with a burning hearth at the side. Interestingly, it wasn't hot, just… Warm, considering that it was still quite deep into summer. There was also a sense of peace in this cabin, and a sense of hope. There was also a note on the coffee table, which read _'Perseus, I hope you like your coming-home present. Oh PS. anyone can come here, I don't mind at all. I truly believe that no one should be denied their own hearth_'

Percy smiled. The Hermes cabin wouldn't be so overcrowded after all. There was plenty of room.

LINE BREAK

Percy probably has had the happiest few weeks of his life. His father had apparently gotten his act together, and sent relatively regular letters to Percy. One letter in particular though, talked about him going back to school.

"_Perce, if you would like to go to school, I have position held down for you. But if you want to stay year round, I'll understand. Your mother says she still can mask you presence until next year, giving you ample time for you to learn how to do it, so long as you do not use your powers"_

Percy seriously considered it, but left his final decision for the end of the summer.

On the Fourth of July, there was a fireworks show made by the Hephaestus Cabin. Percy could only let his jaw slacken as he watched finale of the fireworks, which included Spartan warriors fighting out in the sky. Annabeth could only laugh at him.

As the two spread out their picnic blanket, Grover came to say goodbye. He just obtained his searcher's license, and was raring to go to find Pan.

"Good luck, Grover! Oh, and don't die!" Percy said, winking, remembering that particular advice that was shared so commonly during their quest.

"Don't forget about your reed pipes!" Annabeth piped in, before embracing Grover.

"And Grover… Please come back," Percy said genuinely this time, remembering how searchers never returned for the past two thousand years.

"Don't worry, Perce," Grover clapped his shoulder, embraced Annabeth, and left.

LINE BREAK

July passed, as Percy felt even more uneasy about the quest. The last night of the summer came, and the campers had one last meal together. Percy then gave half of his sacrifice to Hestia, his mother, and a little for Hades, who helped him during the quest.

At the campfire, the beads were given out. Percy could only look on in pride as Luke presented a bead which had a hearth painted on it.

Luke then said, "This, is to commemorate the first ever child of the Eldest Olympian, Hestia, and the quest he undertook to the underworld to make peace among the Olympians!"

The entire camp got on their feet and cheered, leaving a warm, a very warm feeling in Percy's heart. He had a family. A family he could trust. People who cared about him. Most importantly though, he wasn't alone anymore.

LINE BREAK

This was decision time. Percy had just received a letter from Dionysus, who so kindly filled out a pleasant letter asking whether he would stay for the year. Well, if you avoid the part about him being eaten by harpies if he was late. Before anything though, he did want to clear his morning training routine. Going to the arena, Percy was in a dilemma. It was either his father, or camp.

Before all that, though, he had to make his way into the sword-fighting arena, where he would frequently do his morning routine of 300 slashes, etcetera. He was increasingly pleased when he saw Luke, his frequent duelling partner (and slave driver), and couldn't help but be awed at the older boy's skill. Percy had essentially forgotten about his suspicions about Luke. A few months of being best friends and sparring partners with the man himself did the trick.

He stopped practicing though, and regarded Percy.

"Uh, hi. Sorry for-," Percy said

"It's alright Perce, just doing some practice, that's all. You can join if you want," Luke said kindly.

"Well, those dummies are pretty beat up already, how about a spar?" Percy asked excitedly.

"Later, Perce. I'm kind of tired already. Besides, the dummies get replaced every day, so there's no problem," Luke said.

Percy then observed Luke's sword, noticing that it looked odd. One side was silver, while the other was a basic celestial bronze.

"This is a new toy, Perce. It's called Backbiter. One side's steel, while one side's celestial bronze. Cool, huh?" Luke asked.

"Hmmm, did you get it from the Hephaestus kids?" Percy asked, wondering how the smith mixed the materials.

"Nah, got it as a gift from a mentor," Luke said, before remembering something.

"Tell you what, Perce. How about we go into the woods, look for something to fight. I mean, for one last time?" Luke asked, before taking out a six-pack of cokes.

"Alright," Percy said happily, relenting when he saw the coke.

There were no monsters out to hunt them, though. So, the pair went to rest under the shade, where Luke suddenly asked, "You miss being on a quest?"

"Nah, I'd rather have a peaceful life or something. How about you, Luke?" Percy laughed, earning a laugh, and then a dark look from Luke.

"I've lived here since fourteen, and all I did was train, train, train. No life, no nothing. And I get thrown on a quest, and when I came back, it was like , 'Too bad, so sad,'. To hell with the laurel wreaths. I will not end up a dusty trophy, a forgotten person who was just thrown aside!" Luke raised his voice, before throwing the can.

"So, you're going off?" Percy asked curiously, before Luke gave him a sick smile.

"I'm saying goodbye to you, Perce," Luke said, before snapping his fingers.

A small fire appeared, and a black scorpion crawled out of it. Percy was dumbfounded, as Luke continued giving him a twisted look.

"Careful there, Perce. Pit scorpions can jump fifteen feet, and their stingers can kill in 60 seconds," Luke cautioned, as Percy slowly began to figure it out.

"W-Why?" Percy asked, already figuring out the prophecy.

"The gods… We are but pawns to them, Perce! They should have been overthrown all those years ago, but because of us half-bloods, they've hung on," Luke said with a mad look.

"But… They are family," Percy said, desperate.

"That's supposed to make me love them? You are naïve, just like your mother," Luke said, wagging his finger.

"Why would you do it…?" Percy asked, despair filling him as he watched betrayal unfold.

"And Thalia… Is this how you repay her sacrifice..?" Percy asked sadly, as Luke flew into a rage.

"Don't speak to me about her! The gods betrayed her! They left her to die!" Luke shouted, before regaining his composure.

"But, no matter. My master, Lord Kronos, he is waiting, and he has plenty of quests for me to take. Ah, Percy, and you? There will be a golden age coming, and you won't be a part of it. Goodbye, Perseus Jackson," Luke said, before disappearing.

Percy was in a state of shock, as the scorpion lunged. He managed to burn it, but he looked down, and saw the puncture mark. He had sixty seconds. As his healing power slowed the poison, he managed to make it to a nymph, before finally collapsing.

"Help… Please…" Percy said brokenly.

There was only one thought in his mind as he slipped into unconsciousness.

'_Why?'_

**Thank you so much everyone! LIGHTNING THIEF IS DONE! PHEW! Ok, I kinda need help on Sea of Monsters, seeing as how I make up the story as I go. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and Review!**

**Much Love!**

**AUTHOR'S QNS**

**1. What do you think about this story?**

**2. High points and low points of this story?**

**3. Do you like the interaction?**

**As usual if you have any questions for me, pm me, I will be happy to reply. Thank you everyone, toodles ~^**


	10. Percy's Family's Pretty Wild

Legacy of the Hearth Chapter 10

**I'm sorry for the delay, but I was busy, and needed a little break from writing. School, project submissions, exams, take your pick. But my final paper just ended, and I'm back! From here to next Sunday, at least. After that, it's 6 weeks of attachment, so pardon me if I update irregularly. However, we left off at a sour note where Percy didn't have a fun time. I hope you enjoy ='). And this is Chapter 10, a personal landmark for me :-D.**

"He's waking!" A voice exclaimed in relief as Percy started to stir.

Percy groaned as he felt a burning feeling deep in his stomach. He opened his eyes to see two worried, but clearly relieved looking people. Chiron and Annabeth. Suddenly, Annabeth moved to hold Percy down, who was startled. Annabeth then fed him nectar, all while dabbing a cloth of water on his forehead.

"Y-you idiot! You almost died! If not for Chiron…" Annabeth said frantically, as Percy smiled wryly at her, earning a small glare.

"Well, I think Percy's powers deserve some credit, as it made my healing much easier than it should, considering this is pit scorpion venom. Speaking of which, Percy, how're you feeling?" Chiron asked.

"Uh, fried," Percy replied, as Chiron nodded.

"Hmm… Better than I expected. You must tell me what happened, Percy," Chiron said sternly, as Percy nodded.

"The prophecy was fulfilled, Chiron. It might sound crazy, but yesterday…" Percy continued as he recounted the events that happened.

"I-I can't believe it… He was never the same after his quest… Now I understand… May the Gods c-curse h-him," Annabeth said, with a hint of betrayal and hurt in her voice.

Percy noticed that she never once spoke Luke's name.

"Olympus must be warned. I will go at once," Chiron murmured, as Percy held up a hand tiredly.

"It's alright, I've told them already. Also, I think Lord Hades and Mom have also sounded the alarm," Percy said, as Chiron nodded in recognition.

Annabeth's stare was blank, as she was still in her state of shock. Chiron, though, suddenly moved, as if he had made a decision.

"Percy, I have one more thing to tell you. You will be a great hero. Your path would, undoubtedly draw many powers to your fate. Train patiently, Perseus. Your time will come," Chiron said.

"I'm in that… Prophecy, am I? The one Annabeth's been rattling off about the past year. It about Kronos, isn't it?" Percy asked with a small voice.

A pause as Chiron carefully worded his next sentence.

"Yes, child, but I am afraid I cannot tell you more than the fact that the Gods have their reasons for not revealing everything, Perseus. You must be careful too, Perseus. Kronos is cunning. He will try to trick you into exposing yourself. He will want to rule over your fears, Perseus, to rule over your dissent. Do not give him what he wishes, Perseus Jackson," Chiron warned, earning a stiff nod from Percy, who was miffed that Chiron couldn't reveal more.

It was Percy's fate, and for some reason, it was clouded to only him. Heck, even Annabeth knew his fate in the prophecy. What was his life, an entertainment show to his friends? They weren't too entertained, but still. Percy stewed in further anger as he stared at Chiron blankly. It was then Hestia came in, to calm Percy down.

'_Calm down, Perseus. I will say this; you are not ready to know your fate. Please, trust me on this, Perseus. Trust Chiron on this, Perseus. He means well, and only wishes for your well-being. Do not let the betrayal from your friend Luke cloud your mind further, Perseus. I will not allow you to mistrust everyone else for that sole reason,' _Hestia chastised, as Percy bit his lip.

Chiron looked at him for a moment, before speaking, "I'm off to Olympus, Perseus. To give the Gods, a formal report, if you will. When I come back, you will need to tell me your decision, whether to stay year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade for the year and be a summer camper," Chiron said with finality, as Percy nodded.

"Oh, and Annabeth. Whenever you're ready, they're here," Chiron said to Annabeth.

When Chiron left, it was just Annabeth and Percy.

"They're here? What's that mean?" Percy asked curiously, as Annabeth shrugged.

"Uh, just following an advice. It's alright, Percy," Annabeth said, as Percy raised an eyebrow.

"_Alright,_ Percy. I'm, uh, going home for the year," Annabeth finally told, as Percy let out an indifferent 'oh'.

Annabeth was annoyed, and poked Percy at his forehead.

"Home? I thought you hated home?" Percy asked.

"No, my dad and I, we kind of… Reconciled," Annabeth muttered.

Percy's mouth opened, before he smiled, with a hint of smugness. Annabeth sighed as she saw him smile like that, and gave him 5 drachmas.

"Nothing beats home, and this time I'm sincerely confident that it won't end up like last time. Bye, Annabeth," Percy said gently, as Annabeth said a muffled 'we'll see', before smiling at her friend.

"Well, before that… What's your decision, Percy?" Annabeth asked.

Percy took a deep breath as he recounted what his parents said to him.

'_Will you give me another chance, my son?'_

_'Everyone has a Hearth, Perseus. Everyone.'_

"I'm going home. I'm also following an advice," Percy said with conviction.

'_There will always be a hearth waiting for you, Percy.'_

"And, my parents and I have some serious catching up to do," Percy finished with a wink.

"Fair enough. By any chance, is something waiting for you, Percy?" Annabeth suddenly asked, as Percy caught the meaning of her question.

"Always," Percy said, as Annabeth smiled, as if she confirmed something.

"Bye, Percy, get well soon," Annabeth said, before leaving, her blonde figure going out through the door.

Percy thought about the things he would do as he lay down. Yes, he had some _serious _catching up to do with his parents.

'_Of course, Perseus, of course. Dinner with your father, me, and you, this Sunday, midnight. I have plenty of time,' _Hestia suddenly spoke, as Percy closed his eyes.

'_You're on, mom.'_ Percy said, before drifting into sleep.

LINE BREAK

It was close to summer, and Percy was feeling proud of himself. He wasn't caught being in trouble for nearly the whole year! This was the longest he'd lasted. Then the dreams started, and everything went to hell. The dream went a little like this.

At first, it seemed normal. The landscape changed to a deserted street that Percy recognized as a town in Florida. He saw a similar view in a travel agent booklet once. If there was something Percy had, it was fantastic memory. He did not think things through, though, always making up plans on the spot. Plans were Annabeth's territory anyway. But I digress.

Now, the dream on the surface was pretty normal. It wasn't until Percy saw Grover running out of his wits that Percy finally noticed something was wrong. Now, Grover was Percy's best friend, so usually nothing would be wrong. At least, that was what Percy optimistic mind thought before he heard a bone shattering growl and saw a shadowy, large figure labor down the block. Grover was clearly frightened as he mumbled something about 'warning them' and 'getting away', before he dashed into a boutique store.

Percy held his breath as he watched the monster walk past the store, with Grover still trembling inside. It stopped for a moment, before walking past. Then, Grover did it. He breathed a sigh of relief. Percy had to shout 'NO!' as the monster suddenly returned, blowing the store wide open before shouting, "MIIIIINNNEEE!"

Percy woke with a start as he surveyed his surroundings. He thought he saw a shadow, but he chucked that thought aside. Although, he did note that the shadow looked extremely familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Then, it hit him. That curly hair in the shadow he saw was something he recognized very well. Using his powers silently, his eyes glowed as he confirmed his suspicions. Percy smirked as he thought about the nasty surprise he was going to give her, before his father called to him.

"Percy! Last day of school! And no trouble at all!" John exclaimed with a note of surprise, to which Percy groaned.

Hestia did mention that while he inherited some restraint and tact from her, he still acted like his father. Sarcastic and smart-mouthed, and extremely prone to fits of mood swings too. Except that, John was wilder than Percy. Sad one moment, and suddenly excited the next. It was something that endeared John to Hestia. Percy smiled as he remembered that magical Sunday midnight dinner that the family had.

FLASHBACK

"Uh, Tia, you sure you can do this. I mean, isn't it against the rules?" John said anxiously, as he ladled out food on separate plates.

"Of course, John, you don't need to worry. I have my ways of concealing my presence. Besides, if I couldn't, the Fates would be on me right now. They, and the primordials, are the only ones powerful enough to detect my presence. Also, like I said, I have a lot of free time," Hestia said with a wink, as John smiled.

"Thank you… So, peace?" John said gently, before kissing Hestia on the cheek.

Hestia's face instantly became golden, as Percy smirked, his mismatched eyes gleaming.

"I'll take that as a yes," John said triumphantly.

"Mom looks like one of those death masks in those museums," Percy laughed, drawing a laugh from John.

"You know son, that was the first thing I said to her when we… Last met after we…" John started to say before Hestia gave him a glare.

"After you… What?" Percy asked, as Hestia bit her lip. Her face was practically shining right now.

"After we…" John said in a teasing tone, as Percy realized what his father meant.

"Um! W-we must eat! Our food is going to get c-cold," Hestia stuttered as she quickly stuffed her face into her food, trying to hide her face within the vegetables.

Percy was stunned. He never knew his father was so… Playful. I mean, granted, he got better recently, but this? It was like a new person altogether.

"No, Percy. This is an old John Jackson. The one I fell in love with," Hestia said fondly, as she leaned her head towards her beaming lover.

"Er, huh?" John asked.

"No, Percy was asking whether you were a new person altogether, you idiot," Hestia chastised, as John pouted.

"No, that was just you snooping in other's minds, Tia. That's not very nice, you know?" John chided, as Hestia pouted.

"It's my son..! And besides, I can tell you some things he's been keeping from us, John. Something like liking-" Hestia said before being cut off.

"No, she's not, mom!" Percy exclaimed, as Hestia smirked.

"You didn't let me finish, Percy. I was about to say fast food… but…" Hestia chuckled.

"He's so much like me," John said, as Hestia nodded.

Percy had an extremely great interest in his shoes, as his parents decided to talk together alone. Deciding that the 'storm' was over, he started to eat, all the while trying to listen in to his parents' hushed voices.

"_Tia, stop blaming yourself. We knew the risks when we had Percy."_

_"But he is in so much danger… Zeus grows more paranoid! Percy's powers haven't stopped awakening, and he has already defeated a God! I don't know! And the enemies he has to face…"_

_"Tia, have faith. He saved my life. I have the utmost faith that he will have a happy ending. What did you say to me a long time ago? Say it, Tia."_

_"T-that a hearth w-would never fade, so long a fire b-burns."_

_"Still cliché, but well."_

_"Stop being a smart mouth for once. Please."_

_"I know, Tia, but Percy's fire is strong, bright. I can feel it, somehow. He is stronger than you think, Tia. Have faith in your son, Tia. Isn't that the exact thing you told me a long time ago, when Percy was born? Have faith in him, Tia. He will pull through. I know it. You know it. After all, he's your son. No, he's our son."_

_"You are such a melodramatic, John. Thank you… Always making me happy, eh? Oh, the boy's listening."_

Percy instantly shot up as he heard that. As he heard, he felt the warmth receding from his mind. It was then he realized. His mother hadn't pulled out of the connection at all. Hestia winked at Percy, as John gave him a wry smile. The food was essentially finished, but Percy had one final question to ask.

"So, mom, dad… How did you guys fall in love?" Percy asked curiously, as both his parents nearly fell out of their seats.

John quickly started nodding to Hestia, who sported a deep golden blush. It was even deeper than the death-mask-blush. Hestia started to stutter, before John put her hand to her shoulder and winked. Hestia could only take deep breaths.

"Give us a chance, Perce. We're technically a young couple, and Tia is quite inexperienced. She's also quite easy to tease," John winked, although he crumpled back to his seat at Hestia's blazing glare.

"I'll show you easy to tease," Hestia said as she started to collect fire on her hands.

Percy marveled at this unfamiliar side of Hestia. A teasing, playful, yet wild side that she was showing right now was surreal. John immediately tried to placate her with a smooth voice and change the subject.

"Err, Tia, there's no need for flames. Remember what happened in Montauk? Anyway, err, back to the subject," John stuttered, as Percy snickered.

"Whipped," Percy muttered.

"It was two years before you were born, Percy. I was on holiday at the time, when I first met your mother. I still remembered how I was the one who annoyed the living hell outta Tia. I will say that in the first few weeks we talked, Tia hated me. I believe I am the only one, in history, who would rile her up that much. Her eyes would go reaalllyyy bright red, and I would just laugh at that curious golden tinge her face took. Of course, I didn't know who she really was at the time, so it was really funny to me. I remember we would break out into crazy arguments over nothing," John said, laughing.

"Remember the one where we argued over which kind of pasta was better?" Hestia said, leaning her head on John's shoulder.

"Ah, that one! Yes, I remember… You were basically shoving a plate to my face and forcing me to eat it… Delicious, though… Anyway, back to the subject. Oh, if you're thinking, Tia didn't stay around because she was obliged to or something. It's because I'm just devilishly attractive," John smugly said.

"S-shut up! I was j-just drawn to you, alright? If you continue, John, I will do what I did to you at that last day where you called me an old woman," Hestia muttered with a sickly sweet smile, as John started to sweat.

"O-okay. C-crystal, Tia. O-okay, b-back to t-the subject. Anyway, Percy, we had so many arguments, it was obvious there was going to be a breaking point. It was at that very spot behind this house where we had that particular argument. It was something about relationships. Something that Tia takes extremely seriously. Now, I wasn't a very nice person at the time and I started it by saying that I hated relationships. I just came out of a failed one at the time anyway," John explained.

"Bad thing to say?" Percy winced.

"Very. Tia flipped out. Like seriously, she just flipped out. I still remember this very quote that, well, I think started to warm me to her at the time. _Why deny a hearth waiting for you? You give up your own hearth like that? A place that will always accept you, nurture you, yet you deny it? No wonder you're alone! Miserable! With nowhere to go!_ Of course, when Tia started saying that I kinda flipped out too. I said very unkind things to her, and one thing led to another, and she stopped coming," John said, remembering that argument word for word.

"It's okay, John. We're over that now," Hestia comforted, all the while sporting a serene smile.

John took a deep breath as he continued.

"She stopped coming, basically. I remember waiting for her, by that porch, every night. I would basically miss our arguing, and her companionship. I believe it was then I realized I had feelings for Tia. I still remember, that very night, when she came back. I remember calling out for her that very night. Imagine my surprise when she suddenly appeared and gave me a hug! I mean, we were just having a severe argument, and here she was giving me a hug the moment we meet again. I remember apologizing to her a lot of times. Thinking about it now, I think we were just two lonely people who chanced upon each other. And I happened to chance upon such a beautiful heart like Tia," John said fondly as Hestia blissfully smiled.

"One thing led to another, and then we had a dinner, here. I wasn't too hot on money, so we just had a small dinner here, at midnight, on a Sunday. It was a magical moment and I think that was the time where we actually had the guts to say 'I love you' to each other. Percy, you're starting to fall asleep… How about you go get some?**"** John said kindly.

'_I never saw this side of you, mom. Where did you get that?' _Percy cheekily asked.

'_Since I met your father. Get some sleep child, you look tired,' _Hestia winked.

Percy complied, wiping a tear as he left for his room, knowing that he had two parents who loved him unconditionally. There was a question he wanted to ask, but he waited as he did not want to hurt this moment that they had with each other.

Because at this time, they were one family.

FLASHBACK END!

"PERCY! STOP DOZING OFF!" John had to raise his voice even higher this time, as Percy really was deep in his thoughts.

"Oh Dad… Can it wait?" Percy moaned, as his father smiled sinisterly.

Percy, seeing that sinister smile, quickly roused and dressed up. He shuddered as he remembered he was given that particular smile. It was hard to forget being woken up by a gas lighter. Granted, he was immune to fire, but still.

Immediately, Percy dressed up, pocketed his weapons, all the while thinking of the dream he had, and the question he wanted to ask his father. However, he tried to be upbeat, and convince himself that this last day wasn't going to be so bad. For the whole year, he hadn't been nearly killed, or maimed, or basically, gotten into any trouble.

Percy should have known though, with his luck, he shouldn't have been so cavalier about his upbeat attitude.

Percy had breakfast with his father, who made pancakes, and served Vanilla Coke for drinks, which was kind of like a family drink for the Jacksons. No one messed with the Jacksons' Vanilla Cokes. At least, no one messed with John's vanilla Coke cans. Percy shuddered as he remembered his father flipping out when they ran out of Vanilla Cokes. It was one of his many quirks.

Percy had a curious brooding look at his face as he thought about the dream he just had. John instantly recognized it.

"What's wrong, Perce? Any trouble?" John asked.

Percy told his father about the dream.

"Oh, I'm sure he's okay, Percy. If something happened to him, I think camp would have told you about it," John said, wincing as he said the word 'camp'.

"Uh, what's wrong with camp, dad? You look pretty tensed," Percy asked curiously.

"Chiron sent me a message yesterday. There were some unplanned problems. But I'll explain all of that later in the evening. Go to school first, Percy," John said seriously, as Percy tilted his head in confusion.

"What problems? Did something happen?" Percy asked nervously, before the clock rang.

"Like I said, I'll explain later, Perce. You should go. Your friend Tyson should be waiting," John said sternly, with a tone of finality.

Needless to say, Percy would also have some unplanned problems, which would be the reason why John never had the chance to explain to him the reason why he couldn't go to camp.

LINE BREAK

Percy sighed. It was the second time he saw his, ah, stalker. She wasn't very subtle in trying to follow him, though invisible. Percy shook his head, and waited for the time where he would give her the nasty surprise.

Percy's school day at Meriwether College Prep started normally. Well, it was as normal as it could be for this particular school. The students were pretty wild, and the teachers were a little too lax at managing these wild characters. Take for example, a small, insignificant 1 hour break (With no supervision), that turned into a full on wedgie contest between, well, seventh and eighth graders. You get the idea.

There was one particular character though, who would always be the one to lead all the mischief. Sloan. Percy shook his head as he watched the bully give the whole class wedgies. Percy would lose his patience however, when he moved onto Tyson.

Tyson, was huge, tall, and really strong, but was also a big softy. He was scared of, well, many things (Percy's being nice). While he had a relatively deep voice, he would talk funny, like a kindergartener. Percy always had a soft spot for Tyson, partly because Tyson was Percy's only friend in the school.

Percy gave a deathly glare to Sloan, who ignored him. Percy sighed, and stood up to face Sloan, who by this time, was already behind Tyson, poising himself for the wedgie.

"Back off, Sloan," Percy growled.

"Why do you care, Jackson? You might have friends if you'd never stick up for that freak," Sloan sneered, pointing to Tyson, who by this time was already crying.

Percy was struck. He found himself, for the first time, without words, as he opened his mouth. He bit his lip, as Sloan's friends laughed. Percy never did have any friends, other than Tyson. Swallowing, Percy gave Sloan a heated glare, literally, as his mismatched eyes narrowed. Sloan faltered, before gathering himself and smirking.

"PE, Jackson. You're dead," Sloan said with a sinister tone.

The only good news that Percy gleaned from that period was the fact that he passed his English subject.

LINE BREAK

"I… Am a freak?" Tyson asked sadly, as Percy sighed.

"No, you're not..." Percy said with a warm voice, as Tyson relaxed.

"You are a good friend… Miss you if I can't…" Tyson trailed off.

Percy sighed, knowing that Tyson was only enrolled because of some kind of community service project enacted by the school. Percy felt guilty as he worded his next sentence, worried that he'd jinx Tyson.

"It's all going to be fine, really. No worries. Hakuna matata. You remember that class?" Percy laughed, as Tyson's shoulders relaxed.

Percy never knew just how wrong he was.

LINE BREAK

It was the science exams, which thankfully, Percy and Tyson passed. The criteria were to make the chemicals explode. With students like Sloan, and well, Percy, Percy fully understood. He wondered if the teachers would breathe a sigh of relief if the explosion killed the students. Percy and Tyson, though, took it one step further. Tyson fumbled, and dropped all the chemicals into one bowl, which emitted noxious smoke which Percy suddenly, as if on instinct, recognized to be poisonous. Immediately, the teacher, Ms Tesla, evacuated the whole class, all the while praising Percy for his 'impressive' chemistry skills.

Percy wasn't fooled. He caught the sarcasm in her voice, which made him immensely relieved that this was his last day.

The morning passed by quickly, and it was Social Studies class. Percy was however, distracted as he turned the notebook page to the photo Annabeth sent him over spring break. It was a photo of her smirking in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Percy shook his head and sighed as he looked at her expression. You'd think she designed the monument the way she smirked at it.

All of a sudden, Percy wished his best friend was here. She was annoying, and tended to rattle off, but she was his, well, best friend. Not to mention she would have understood his dream, with all her smartiness (as Grover called it).

Percy was about to close his notebook when Sloan suddenly ripped Annabeth's photo out. Percy was livid. All his tact and patience went out of the window, as Percy stood up.

"What the hell do you want, Sloan?" Percy hissed, as Sloan started to smirk.

"No way, you have a-"Sloan chuckled, as Percy grew angrier.

"Give. It. Back," Percy said quietly, as Sloan laughed.

Sloan looked at Percy for a moment, before giving the photo to his friends, who tore it up. Percy had to use all his willpower here, to restrain himself from beating the living crap out of the ugly bullies, who all had weird names. Percy narrowed his eyes as he observed their nametags.

_Marrow Sucker_

_Skull Eater _

_Joe Bob _

"They're joining next year, and they are actually paying for their fees, unlike some _retard_ that I know," Sloan bragged, as Percy gave him a hard, piercing glare.

"Piss off," Percy hissed, clenching his fist, as Sloan chuckled.

"Next period, Jackson. Just you wait," Sloan told ominously.

LINE BREAK

Percy had finally caught her. The stalker that had been following him for the past day. It all started when she, well, whispered to Percy and Tyson as they left class.

"Percy!" A girl whispered as Percy walked through the locker area.

Percy, who was thoroughly annoyed by her sneaky ways, decided to give her a nasty scare. Excusing himself from Tyson, Percy used what little power he currently had (Hestia sealed most of them to keep him undetected) to locate the spying girl.

"Boo, Annabeth. What in the world are you doing?" Percy whispered into the girl's ear as he walked to her sitting form.

Annabeth yelped, a girlish squeal that Percy would never forget for a long time. Annabeth, rousing from her shock, then punched Percy in the shoulder, who immediately winced.

"Following you of course. I wanted to talk to you, but you were never alone," Annabeth said as-a-matter-of-factly, as Percy stared at her.

"And that warranted you to, ah, _look_ _into my bedroom window_? You little stalker," Percy deadpanned, as Annabeth went red.

"Shut up! Anyway, don't you have classes? We'll talk later," Annabeth said, still with a red face.

Percy laughed. At least, he stopped when Annabeth kicked him in his gut.

"A-alright, Annabeth, whatever. Jeez, why are girls so violent? Anyway, see ya later, outside school. I also have something to talk to you about," Percy said, reeling from the kick.

Percy was in pain, but he'd never forget that girlish squeal that Annabeth loosed. It'd be the first thing he'd tell Grover if he'd return after finding Pan. Percy shook his head. No, _when_ he'd return. Not if. Hopefully, at least.

Percy returned to class, where he had PE. The class where Sloan said that he'd pulverize Percy, who by now kept his guard up. Ever since he saw the funny names that Sloan's friends had, Percy's instincts basically went haywire.

Percy changed in the locker room, where he encountered Tyson, who gave him a familiar look. Getting the message, Percy sighed and stood guard in front of the door as Tyson changed. Percy always wondered if it was related to the scars that donned Tyson's back. Needless to say, the last time someone teased Tyson about the scars, he ripped the door off the hinges. It took all of Percy's people skills to calm his upset friend.

When they reached the gym, Percy winced as he observed Coach Nunley, who was so old and shriveled that Percy nearly mistook him for the Oracle. Thinking back, the school was pretty weird.

Anyway, the class had dodgeball, and Sloan had nominated himself as captain. The coach barely looked interested, and just waved a bored 'okay'.

Naturally, the opposing team consisted of all the bully victims and Percy, while Sloan's team had all the jocks, and the popular kids. Percy narrowed his eyes as he also noticed the visitors. They weren't part of the class, were they? His hands involuntarily tightened on Riptide as he eyed the ugly group of people.

"Scared," Tyson suddenly said.

"Huh, why?" Percy asked, thoroughly puzzled.

"Smell funny. Them," Tyson said, rubbing his nose, while pointing at the visitors.

Percy further narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, a ball was thrown directly at Percy's gut. Percy doubled over in pain, it felt like he was hit by one of those bronze automatons he sparred with at camp set to 'Legendary' difficulty.

It was then Percy made the decision. No human could have thrown that ball with that kind of force. Drawing Riptide, Percy gave a heated glare at the visitors.

Just then, the visitors grew in size, as Percy bit his lip. They were pretty much Giants now, with weird tattoos and sharp teeth.

The kids and big, tough Matt Sloan were screaming. Before they reached the door, however, Marrow Sucker threw his ball at the door, sealing the gym shut.

"Let them go," Percy said coldly, as his eyes glowed at the giants.

"And lose our lunch? I think not, Son of the Eldest," Joe Bob said evilly, before waving his hand.

A new batch of dodgeballs appeared. Except, this was a batch of bronze balls that was nastily hot. Percy looked at the Coach, before deciding that he wasn't any help, from how disinterested he looked. The Mist was troublesome in its own way.

Percy took out Riptide, before having to dodge another batch of bronze balls. The situation wasn't good in anyway, as Percy knew, that he couldn't take them on alone. At this time, Percy wondered where in the flying Hades was Annabeth, before he witnessed Tyson catch the flaming bronze balls and throw it back to the giants, who screamed for their lives. The balls smashed against the giants' chest and they turned to dust.

"My brothers! You will pay for this, Fire spawn!" Joe Bob cried, as Percy's eyes glowed as his powers started to break the seal that Hestia placed on him.

"Shut up, giant," Percy growled as he watched Tyson swat away another ball, which cannoned into the bleachers with a huge explosion.

Finally feeling his powers return to him, Percy let it loose. Although he did not have his dagger, Percy decided his sword should be more than enough. Tyson's hands would have been burnt by now, and with more mortals probably coming in, Percy knew he had to act quickly. He ran towards the giant, dodging through the deathballs, and let loose a beam of red, blazing energy from his sword, that suddenly grew erratic, but eventually hitting its mark, which was Joe Bob. The giant's eyes could only widen, as the bolt of fire pierced through him, and to the wall opposite him, causing a huge explosion that well, scattered all the nasty contents in the locker room.

Percy looked at Riptide. It was a perfect blade, but it felt so… Weird. Erratic would be a nice word for it. He wondered what the blade was to be so unpredictable. Well, at least until he saw a familiar figure standing in front of him.

"What took you so long? Lost your touch, eh, Percy?" Annabeth smirked as she stood in the smoke.

"That's the girl… That's her," Sloan put up a shaky finger.

"And you…" Annabeth said, before punching Sloan clean in the jaw, causing him to crumple.

Percy couldn't help but smile at his friend's dramatic entrance. Although, his smile faltered as he looked at the state of the gym. It was in flames. Percy's attack at blown a hole through the wall, but it didn't help, since the fire was blocking the students' way there. The teachers and Mr Bonsai (The headmaster) was panicking, trying to open the door as students panicked even more.

"See me outside! Bring Tyson too! Especially _him_," Annabeth said, saying 'him' with a hiss, before disappearing with her hat.

"There!" A teacher shouted in relief as she managed to open the door, as the students ran out of the burning room.

Percy was to follow, before Sloan interrupted.

"It was him! He blew a hole and burned the building! Ask Coach Nunley!" Sloan shouted in terror, as Percy involuntarily let out a frustrated growl and fixed him with a blazing glare.

"Uh, what? Yeah, uhhuh," Coach Nunley said disinterestedly, as Percy bit his lip.

The adults turned to Percy with accusing looks, and Percy knew that they would never believe him, no matter what he said. They wouldn't believe him if he tried anyway. Grabbing Tyson, Percy ran out of the building through the hole, as his eyes continued glowing in anger.

LINE BREAK

Annabeth was waiting at the alley down Church Street. She eyed Percy and Tyson suspiciously, before finally resting her eyes on Tyson, who flinched at her piercing stare. Percy recognized the look. It was the look she gave to enemies.

"Don't be rude, Annabeth. He saved my life," Percy said sternly, not willing to get into a shouting match with her over Tyson being a Cyclopes. Tyson muttered something.

"He can talk?" Annabeth was surprised.

"I talk. You are pretty," Tyson admitted, before Annabeth gave a sour look.

"Ah, gross!" Annabeth stepped away, as Percy gave her his blazing glare.

"Shut up, Annabeth. I said don't be rude. He's my friend too, Cyclopes or not," Percy said coldly, as Annabeth winced.

In fact, Percy had figured out about Tyson earlier. When his powers broke the seal Hestia put, he caught a glimpse of the only one eye Tyson had. The fact that Tyson didn't get his hands burnt was further proof. Chiron taught that Cyclopes needed to be immune to fire, as they worked the forges of the Gods. Percy nodded to Annabeth, who sighed and gave a subdued 'Alright'.

"Now that's over with, what were those guys?" Percy asked, curious.

"Laistrygonians. But that doesn't matter. We have bigger problems. Have you had the dreams?" Annabeth asked with an extremely serious tone.

"Huh? You've got dreams about Grover too?" Percy replied, as Annabeth instantly gasped.

"Grover? What about Grover?" Annabeth asked with a frantic tone.

Percy told her. Annabeth's face was even paler. Percy decided to get off the subject, and settle Annabeth's troubles first.

"What were you dreaming about?" Percy tried to draw away from Grover first – Annabeth had made it pretty clear that her dream meant trouble.

"Trouble at camp," Annabeth said darkly, as Percy sighed.

"Lais-t-try-go-nians called Percy something. Son of the Eldest?" Tyson raised his hand, as Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks.

"Yeah, my mom's Hestia. Why?" Percy was puzzled.

Tyson frowned," But then-"

Suddenly, a police siren could be heard, as Annabeth pulled Percy and said, "We need a cab."

"Huh, we don't have any cash, Annabeth. How do you expect-" Percy said, before Annabeth cut him off with a look.

"Just trust me, Perce. Tyson has to come too," Annabeth looked grim, while she looked at Tyson weirdly, like a disease.

"_Annabeth,_" Percy growled, as Annabeth gave a look of resignation.

"Come on," Annabeth said, as the trio ran through the alley, away from the burning school.

Percy could only feel guilty, thinking about the meeting with his father in the evening, that would never happen. His rotten luck had somehow struck again.

"_So much for perfect year."_

LINE BREAK

Hestia was biting her nails as she observed her son. She couldn't guide him as she did earlier – a stern threat from Zeus had taken care of that. While Hestia, in her full power, was more powerful than Zeus, the fact that she was restricted by her domains had made sure that her power was restricted. Which was why Zeus feared Percy.

While Hestia was restricted by her domains, Percy was restricted by nothing. Added to the fact that Percy was Hestia's first-born, although a half blood, Percy had the potential to become extremely powerful.

Zeus feared that Percy would someday turn his back on Olympus. If Percy did, darker powers would entice Percy to their side. With Percy on their side and with the Olympians weakening as the millennia passed by, Olympus would be doomed. The fact is, without Hestia's threat, Percy would have been eliminated a long time ago. The only reason Zeus hadn't, was because although he had successfully limited Hestia's power through weak domains, and empowered himself with strong domains, was because Zeus still feared Hestia.

While Hestia was a peaceful goddess, if it meant protecting her child, Zeus knew she would carry on with her threat. Hestia also had many powerful allies that she earned over the millennia with her nature and character, which would most certainly act if she needed to defend herself in some way, or if she was betrayed.

However, the Fates' most recent decree changed everything. Hestia was crucial to the previous quest, and was only allowed to intervene, due to Fate already being set, and the fact that Ares himself interfered. She was only allowed to interfere if it helped along Fate, basically, she could not fight it. She was basically powerless to help Percy, unless it was about mundane things, or just simple facts about his powers. Zeus' reaction was worse. He disallowed any further communication with her and Percy, and gave her many mundane, pointless jobs, to make sure that she didn't visit her family.

She hated it. She hated that her brother was so paranoid. She hated that she was powerless to help her son. She hated the fact that the Fates ruled over the hearts of people, the fact that they abused Ananke's privileges to decide the fates of men, and immortals to their own liking. She still had a firm belief that men should be given free will, as was decreed by Chaos. That particular fact was told to her by well, some of her darker allies.

Turning towards Percy though, she could only look nervously as she sensed his power growing. Zeus was going to take drastic action if Percy awakened his powers further. Not to mention he was already angered by the poisoning of his daughter's tree. He would grow paranoid, and the strongest demigods would be his first target. Or the people close to them, if he couldn't touch the said demigod.

Hestia clenched her fist, though. If he tried anything…

Hestia's pair of blazing eyes then turned white hot, while the room shook with her power, as she thought about how she would act if Zeus lifted a finger against her family.

**END OF CHAPTER 10! I'm sorry for the long wait. I hope you forgive me if the flashback scenes were not nicely written, as romance was never my strong suit. **

**Anyway, may I please ask for a beta? To touch up this chapter. I think I've read over this chapter twice, but it aint hitting the spot, so to speak. Especially the romance scene. I also hope you enjoyed the new dimension I added to Hestia's character. Hahahaha**

**Oh btw, i have a running plot bunny about a new story in whch PJ is in an AU, and is a son of Akhlys. Pertemis, by the way. I dont know if im going to write it, but i'll do it next week if i feel like it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter**

**Anyway, thank you so much, Sayonara, and remember one last thing.**

**REVIEW!**


	11. Percy's Very Rude

**Legacy of the Hearth chapter 11**

**I'm really sorry, haha. I'm having an internship, and it's pretty much keeping me extremely busy. It'll be until 18 October, so yeah. No regular updates till then, sorry.** **Enjoy this chapter. Also, I am going to write that plot bunny I talked about in the chapter before, but I'm hoping to have someone to collaborate with for that story, yeah. Anyway! Enjoy the Sea Of Monsters with Perseus Jackson, Son of Hestia! **

**PS: Thank you all for 14000+ views for this story. Absolutely mindblowing, for me at least =D**

Percy raised an eyebrow at Annabeth as she took out a Drachma.

"What cab, exactly?" Percy asked with a deadpan.

Annabeth ignored him, and called in Ancient Greek, "_Stop! Chariot of Damnation!"_

The Drachma coin sank into the road, while a grey, smoky taxi car manifested from a blood-red pool that formed on the asphalt. Percy noticed a sign, but didn't bother reading it. His dyslexia would have given him a bigger headache than he already had.

Percy sighed. The day wasn't getting rosier for him. Monsters, Annabeth being ruder than usual, Tyson being a Cyclopes. He really wanted a break from all these Greek stuff, as it seemed to bring Percy all sorts of 'hero trouble', as he liked to call it. It was a term that Chiron told him about, after telling him stories about how heroes were mutilated, killed, tortured, due to 'hero trouble'. Which basically means angry gods, rotten luck, bloodthirsty monsters, take your pick.

He was roused from his dark thoughts however, when Annabeth nudged him on the shoulder, and told him to get in the cab.

He gingerly went into the backseat, while the old woman slurred, ""Long Island! Out-of-metro fare bonus! Ha!"

Percy then noticed. It wasn't one old woman, it was three. Crammed into one seat. That was the first sign of, ah, danger as Percy started to sweat. He turned, only to find Annabeth smirk knowingly at him. Percy sighed, knowing that it was going to be a rough trip. It was then, the driver slammed the accelerator with her wrinkled foot, and Percy started to fear for his life.

Just then, a message came over a speaker, telling, "Hi, this is Ganymede, cup-bearer to Zeus, and when I'm out buying wine for the Lord of the Skies, I always buckle up!"

Percy looked back, only to find a black chain in place of a seatbelt.

"Oh for f-, WHOA!" Percy started to curse, only to stop when the crazy cab drivers made a _very sharp turn_, and started to bicker among themselves.

"Look out! Go left!" One of the women screamed as the cab nearly sped into a tree.

Percy looked at Annabeth, whose face was full of unexpected panic, as if she didn't know what she got herself into by calling the crazy trio of old women.

"If you'd give me the eye, Tempest, I'd see that!" The driver shouted.

Percy, by this time, was sighing. He finally got the hint on these women's' identity. These powerful, wise women could have gotten a different job, like serving the Primordials, or the Gods, but no. They _had to _be taxi drivers and scare the living crap out of demigods with their reckless driving. Percy could only gasp again as the taxi narrowly avoided a delivery truck. Annabeth was as white as a sheet.

"Not smirking, are you now, Miss Always-Have-A-Plan," Percy grumbled.

Annabeth mouthed "Shut up, fried-brain."

"They only have one eye, aye?" Percy asked nervously, as Annabeth slowly nodded.

Tyson looked like he was going to puke any moment, which only added to Percy's already existing worries. He remembered the last time Tyson was car-sick. He'd rather go 50 rounds with Echidna and her pet than experience that particular moment again.

"Tyson, please hang in there, I beg you," Percy pleaded, not wanting the big man to puke 10 gallons of stink again.

Tyson bit his lip, and nodded.

The ladies in front were bickering, and Percy couldn't help but look at Annabeth with a WTF look. Annabeth could only hold on for dear life, as she looked at him with a flash of guilt.

"Hey, this is the fastest way to camp. And the way trouble is brewing, I'd say that we, ah, needed this," Annabeth said with a shaky tone, as Percy raised an eyebrow.

Just then, the Sisters started bickering over the only tooth they had, and taking turns over driving, as Percy face palmed. Then, everything went to hell when Anger (the one with the eye), snatched the tooth from Wasp. Wasp in her anger swerved the car towards the edge of Williamsburg Bridge. Percy grew more worried when Tyson turned into a nasty shade of green and clutched his stomach.

"Uh, Annabeth? Please tell me you have a plan for _this,_" Percy stuttered as he pointed a shaking finger towards the edge of the bridge.

"Err, don't worry, Perce. The Grey Sisters know what they're doing," Annabeth said shakily, as she grew paler.

Normally, Percy would be relatively calmed by this, knowing that Annabeth was rarely wrong when situation called for it, but he remembered that they were skimming at the edge of the bridge, thin railing separating the taxi and a 130-foot drop down towards the East River.

"Yes, Wise! We know things! Many things!" Anger screamed with arrogance, although she was still fighting with Wasp over the tooth.

"We know the location you seek!" Tempest shouted, as Percy's eyes widened.

"SHUT UP TEMPEST!" The other sisters screamed.

"Wait, you know what location?" Percy shouted over their bickering.

"No! We're not going to have our eye thrown into the lake again!" The three screamed.

"Horrible!"

"It took years to get it back!"

"We had to _beg_ that _insufferable_ nymph!"

"And speaking of it, GIVE IT BACK!" Wasp screamed, as the eye suddenly flew into Percy's lap during the tussle with Anger.

The cab was still speeding like no other. Percy could only gulp as he eyed the disgusting green orb resting on his lap. With sick fascination, Percy had a smile as he completely forgot about the situation the passengers were in, and picked up the eye.

"What location?" Percy asked politely, as Annabeth gave him a stink-eye.

"PERCY, GIVE THE BLOODY EYE BACK!" Annabeth screamed, as the Sisters echoed her.

"Not until you tell me," Percy stubbornly said, before breaking out into a sweat as Anger shouted something about 'accelerating'.

"Percy, _please _give them the eye. Or we will really smash and disintegrate into a million pieces," Annabeth said darkly, hoping to stop Percy's mad plan.

"Tell me, or I'll burn the eye," Percy said, before manifesting an orb of healing fire.

Not that they knew anyway.

"WAIT! 30, 31, 75, 12! That's the only thing we can tell you! NOW GIVE US THE EYE!" The Sisters screamed.

Then, Thalia's pine tree showed while Annabeth said with an even more urgent voice, "Percy, give them the eye now!"

Percy didn't need to be told twice. He threw the eye towards Anger, who instantly caught it, and slammed on the brakes. The car drifted for a few seconds, and stopped. Percy let loose a breath of relief that lasted about 10 seconds (That's just Perce exaggerating).

Tyson loosed a huge belch, while Percy groaned. He was about to ask more questions when Annabeth gave him a stern look and pointed to something burning.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the sight – Camp was being attacked.

"Oh, man," Annabeth whispered, as Percy eyed the huge pair of bronze bulls, which were running rampant across the border.

Percy narrowed his eyes, as he eyed Thalia's pine tree. Something changed. Something weakened it, such that it no longer had the strength to protect the camp's border from the monsters. He could feel it. Just then, a familiar voice barked orders for reinforcements.

"Clarisse. We have to help her," Annabeth whispered urgently.

Percy still had some disagreements with the Ares campers after that little fight with their father, but understood that it was neither the time, nor moment to dwell on it. Percy drew both his weapons, while his eyes blazed. He instantly turned towards Tyson, who got the wordless message. Annabeth could only sigh at the son of Hestia, knowing that he and Tyson were needed, due to their immunity to fire.

While the two lumbered over to the site, Percy instantly recognized that Clarisse's squad was in real trouble. The bulls were wreaking absolute havoc across the formation of demigods, while Annabeth attempted to help by confusing the monsters with her invisibility hat.

Suddenly, Clarisse found herself blind-sided. The monster swung at her unprotected side, only to find air, as Percy tackled Clarisse to safety. The monster, though, wasn't stopping. Recognizing the danger, Percy grabbed a grumbling Clarisse, threw her to the side, and released a deadly, erratic arc of red energy through Riptide that left a deep wound into the bull. Both bulls then turned to Percy in anger, who finally recognized that he was in deep trouble

"Tyson, a little help here!" Percy shouted, as Tyson looked like he was struggling.

"Can't get through!" Tyson bellowed.

"ANNABETH! Get him through!" Percy screamed, knowing that only Cabin Counselors had the right to let 'foreign' beings go to camp.

"I, Annabeth Chase, give Tyson permission to enter camp!"

Then, Tyson barrelled through, shouted 'BAD COW', and nailed one of the bulls with a powerful haymaker, which left a dent in the bull's face. He was blindsided, and hit with a blast of fire from the bull, but Percy didn't worry, knowing that Tyson was fire-proof. The bull looked stunned. Taking advantage, Percy leaped to stab the bull with his dagger, and then released a beam of blazing energy to burn a hole through the bull. Tyson then followed up, and laid another powerful punch. The bull crumpled, and Percy finally felt just how fatigued he was.

Percy could only regret that he never trained as hard during his time away from camp. Taking a deep breath, Percy looked for the second bull, only to witness Clarisse destroy it.

Clarisse shouted angrily, "You ruined everything! I had it under control!"

"You're welcome, Clarisse," Percy answered drily, as Clarisse grumbled.

"Clarisse, you've got wounded campers," Annabeth pointed out, as Clarisse's expression softened and she left.

Although, not before she glared and said, "I'll be back!"

"Nice moves, Tyson," Percy commended, as Tyson blushed.

Just then, Clarisse walked over, and said, "Jackson, carry the wounded campers, and report to Tantalus."

"Tantalus? Where's Chiron?" Percy raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You've been gone too long, Prissy. Chiron's fired, after _that _happened," Clarisse growled, pointing at the tree.

Percy was dumbstruck. The trainer for heroes for over 3 millennia, fired just like that. He growled as he eyed the tree, realizing why the borders were weakening, such that monsters could go through with ease.

"The tree… Poisoned, aye?" Percy asked darkly, his eyes glowing.

Clarisse nodded curtly.

LINE BREAK

Percy could only wake up with a groan, as Annabeth dabbed his forehead with a cloth of water.

"You bumbling, flaming, fried _idiot_. What on earth were you _thinking_? It was pure luck that Chiron managed to find you before you took even more. It was even luckier that you managed to burn that poison out of your system before you died, you _idiot_," Annabeth hissed.

Percy couldn't help but lower his head, as he remembered just how he ended up in this situation. Percy, well, tried to play hero. He thought with his healing powers, maybe, he could purge the poison out of the tree, only to find that the poison consuming his flames. Percy couldn't stop the magic, and could only look in horror as he watched the poison crawl into him, bit by bit. Pain started to grow as his powers struggled to fight against it.

It was purely due to luck that Chiron happened to be passing by, and pulled Percy away from the tree, saving his life. The magical link broke, while the poison stopped entering, and thankfully, there wasn't enough poison to kill Percy in time before it was burned out by Percy's powers.

"Do not do anything that foolish again, child. If it could be healed that way, I would have contacted you a long time ago, instead of being fired like I am now," Chiron said sternly, as Percy hung his head.

Tyson looked at Percy in worry, before turning to Chiron to say, "Pony!"

"My young Cyclops! I am a _centaur_!" Chiron huffed, before Percy shook his head.

Annabeth explained, "Well, Lord Zeus was upset when… Thalia's tree got poisoned. And since Chiron was charged to protect it-"

"Someone had to take the blame," Chiron finished.

"What poison is it?" Percy asked curiously, wondering how something was so potent as to taint something as pure as the tree.

"It is something from the underworld, a poison I've never seen before. It must have come from a monster deep in the pit," Chiron said darkly.

"It's _him_, isn't it?" A dark look grew on Percy's face.

"Perhaps. But I am being held responsible, since, as Annabeth mentioned, I was tasked with protecting the tree, and I have failed in that task," Chiron added sadly, as Percy gritted his teeth.

"There must be _something_ that can heal it. The camp is dying, Chiron! I can feel it. Surely there must be something," Percy urged, as Chiron gained a contemplative look.

"Yes, there is something powerful enough, but it was lost millennia ago," Chiron said.

"We have to find it," Percy replied, as Chiron looked at him with a sad look.

"Don't do anything rash, child. I told your father not to come, but now that you're here, _stay here_. And I will add this, Perseus; your mother cannot protect you as freely now as she did for the length of your life," Chiron warned, as Percy gave a determined look.

"And she will not need to," Percy retorted, as Chiron gave him an I-hope-so look.

"I will send a message to your father, that you are safe. Just understand this, Perseus. You are in grave danger. The Titan Lord will stop at nothing to either kill you, or obtaining your power. Zeus grows even more wary of your growing powers, Perseus. Even now, the Gods recognize that it has not fully awakened. Please also understand that Lady Hestia will not be there to protect you all the time, Perseus. I must now entrust the both of you to Mr D and Tantalus. We must hope that Mr D can reign in Tantalus, or I fear the camp will be destroyed," Chiron said grimly.

"Where are you going, Chiron?" Percy wondered.

"To the everglades with my kin – Perhaps they know a cure which I myself have forgotten about. There are better healers there that can perhaps give the answers," Chiron explained, as Annabeth shed a tear.

"Don't cry, child," Chiron said gently, as Annabeth sobbed.

"I must go. Perseus, like I always say, you must keep a cool head in these troubling times. Annabeth, remember your oath. Keep him safe!" Chiron said with finality before a conch horn sounded.

"Don't go, Pony!" Tyson called, before bawling when the centaur left the room.

Percy could only sigh and remember what Chiron said about Tantalus, and couldn't help but mutter, "Who the hell is Tantalus?"

LINE BREAK

As Percy led Tyson through to dinner, he couldn't help but glare towards the other campers that were scrutinizing the Cyclops. While they shrunk and turned from Percy's blazing glare, it was clear that they clearly did not want the big guy at camp.

Then, a familiar voice drawled in a condescending tone, "Well, well, Peter Johnson. My millennium is complete, eh?"

"Mr D," Percy regarded coldly, not even bothering to correct the unfriendly wine god, who narrowed his eyes at the bad-tempered demigod.

Next to him though, was someone Percy had never seen before. It was a frail looking, pale old man in a jumpsuit that looked like he went through hell and back. With a look of menacing hatred and anger in his eyes, he regarded Percy cruelly, as if Percy was a slave that needed punishment.

"Ah, yes. This boy is the son of Hestia. Which I find to be amusing considering his… Insolence," Dionysus sneered, as Tantalus nodded knowingly.

"Yes, I understand. He clearly didn't inherit his mother's traits, eh? A disgrace of a son, a mistake indeed. A rare one from Hestia, but a mistake nonetheless. I am Tantalus. And you, Perseus Jackson, will need to stop causing all sorts of trouble," Tantalus mocked, as Percy clenched his fist in anger.

The campers shivered as they felt the temperature go lower as they heard Tantalus mocking Percy.

Percy was well, not amused. He had to use all his willpower to stop himself from punching that poisonous inmate in the face. Dionysus merely smirked, and summoned a newspaper, which showed a massive headline and a large picture of a burning gymnasium. It didn't help that it had Percy's picture on it as well.

"Yes, trouble, if you are thinking that, Perseus. I understand that you have also been causing plenty of it last summer," Tantalus added.

"Why don't you tell that to Lord Zeus, or Lord Poseidon? Or even our friend Mr D here? After all, I might have saved him from getting his godly hide creamed from either Lord Zeus or Lord Poseidon, which ever side he takes," Percy spat furiously, as the campers gasped at his rudeness.

Percy was absolutely livid. He came back to camp to help, only find both himself and his mother mocked by an egomaniac ex-inmate and a very immature and irritating super-powerful god. Mr D's eyes only flashed at this, as he glared at Percy.

"Watch your tongue, boy. Your insolence tests my patience," Mr D warned.

"Then reign in your little hound, Mr D. Keep him barking, and he might say something that the both of you might regret. After all, we know how touchy the more powerful gods can be, eh?" Percy challenged, as Tantalus' eyes grew dark.

"You insolent… Sit down Jackson. The place where no one wants to sit. The place where _traitors _once sat," Dionysus growled.

"Perhaps if you immortals treated your kids better, this wouldn't have happened," Percy retorted angrily, before Annabeth rose.

"Percy, stop and sit down, please!" Annabeth shouted, not wanting her friend to be killed unnecessarily.

Percy grumbled, all the while trudging back to his very own Hestia table, where all the unclaimed once sat. Needless to say, after Luke's betrayal, they… Left.

"Let's go, Tyson," Percy said sourly, as Tyson complied.

"Wait, the monster must stay here. We must decide what to do with it," Tantalus said evilly, as Percy smirked.

"Just be sure not to anger the wrong god, Tantalus," Percy replied curtly, giving an encouraging nod towards Tyson.

It was a very unhappy dinner. Percy couldn't help but carry an extremely bitter expression as he sat in his once-populated Hestia table that was just created the summer before. He could only fumble with his pizza as his mind went to the possibility of fighting his old friends. And Grover's location, too. Not to mention Chiron's warning that the Gods were growing more paranoid of the young demigod.

Not feeling too hungry anymore, the stressed teenager scooped his servings into the fire, and sacrificed for his mother.

"Hestia. Accept my offering. And please help me. _I have no idea what to do_," Percy mumbled softly.

The fire grew brighter, and warmer.

Then the conch horn sounded, as the hateful activities director stood up.

"Now! As my first day of rule! I am very, er, glad to be here to tort – no, interact with you children! And the very first change I will make, is to reinstitute the chariot races!" Tantalus proclaimed, as the campers buzzed.

_'__Chariot races? Is he serious?'_

_'__Crazy old man. He'll get another person pointlessly killed.'_

_'__Doesn't he know what happened the last time we had it?'_

The buzzing continued as Tantalus added, "Now, I understand that there were, ah, complications with the last race."

"Three deaths, twenty-eight mutilations," Will Solace, an Apollo camper whispered as he remembered that horrifying accident that happened after a stray Hephaestus trap went wrong.

Clarisse had her opinion though, "We cant! The security of the camp takes first priority, and the preparations for Chariot racing will really undermine it! The tree-"

"Ah, brave Clarisse, the lady who took the bronze bulls down single-handedly! Rest assured, there will be no worries. This is after all, a summer camp. And we are all here to have fun, eh?" Tantalus said, as Percy coughed.

Clarisse looked like she was going to protest, but her cabinmates, sensing an insult coming, pulled her back into her seat before she said anything that she would regret.

"Now, the monster. Cyclops are after all, bloodthirsty, and have a modest mind-capacity. However, this particular one is not so… Terrible as it might seem. However, seeing that our campers Annabeth Chase and, ah, _Perseus Jackson_ had seen fit to _allow_ the monster in, I am afraid we would need to _confine _it, as a security measure. Until it proves worthy of destruction, at least," Tantalus said with a sneer, as Percy growled.

"Now, any suggestions where it should be… Kept?" Tantalus added, before the whole camp gasped.

A hologram of a trident hovered over Tyson as the innocent Cyclops swatted at it, as Percy started to laugh. The campers could only look at Percy, who smirked.

"And now, how exactly are you even going to _touch_ him, Tantalus? Poseidon happens to be very protective… Do you remember what happened to Odysseus when he blinded Polyphemus? Perhaps you remember how Poseidon answered Polyphemus' prayers to curse the great hero, who lost his entire crew," Percy said, as Tantalus gave him a menacing glare.

Mr D was smirking. He never expected this, but it happened. He couldn't admit it(he had to keep up an image), but he hated Tantalus, and was glad to see the arrogant human put in his place. Maybe the insolent boy wasn't so bad after all. Mr D, however, pushed that thought away as he looked at Percy with a calculating look.

"He is forbidden from gracing the Poseidon Cabin," Tantalus said harshly, as Percy widened his grin.

"That's fine, he's staying with me. Hestia does not mind one bit," Percy smirked earning a smile from Tyson, as Tantalus yelled in anger, as he made plans to torment the insolent son of Hestia.

Tantalus broke into a sickening smile, knowing that this time, Hestia could not interfere in his machinations, due to a recent decree from Zeus, who innately feared that Hestia was potentially nurturing Percy to finally overthrow him and take his throne, after he weakens in the Titan War, which would inevitably happen.

Percy could only smile as he heard a voice in his head saying, '_Well played, Perseus. Very well played.'_

**Haha, thank you for reading if you got this far. Now, I think that your thinking about how draggy this chapter is, but I needed to layout the backbone of the Sea of Monsters, recap abit, and also emphasise on Percy's unwittingly straining relationship with our dear paranoid King of Olympians. Oh, and PM me if you want to suggest on what tortures our hateful friend Tantalus will have for our dear Percy Jackson, or if you have any general questions.**

**Anyway, the offer still stands for the Percy Jackson son of Akhlys Pertemis story that I have in mind. I have the plan laid out (So to speak), and I humbly ask for someone to collaborate with me for this story, as I'm not confident I can take on this project alone. Thank you all very much =)**

**Sayonara, Good night/afternoon/evening, and have a great day/sleep/next day!**

**REVIEW!**


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